All In The Name Of A One Sided Love
by Airotia
Summary: Sakura feels compelled to leave Konoha and look for Sasuke. Ino follows her. But what they find isn't exactly Sasuke. A story of a bad guy changing, and of a crazy person realizing how crazy they actually are. KabutoSakura InoChouj AU Rating changed
1. Chapter 1

All In The Name Of A One Sided Love

Sakura Haruno was a messed up girl. She hates her best friend, Ino Yamanaka. Her teammates had both been gone for the past two and a half years. One was now under a perverted Sannin, Jiraiya, while the other was under an evil ex-Sannin who was currently trying to overthrow Konoha.

After those two left, she spent her years mending her relationship with—and succeeding in finally actually _liking_—Ino, while she constantly worked and studied to become a medic-nin under the third Sannin now Hokage, Tsunade.

This alone would drive anyone crazy. But the biggest thing that proved how messed up she was, was the fact that she was still in love with Sasuke Uchiha, even though Ino was constantly pushing her to move on, like she had. She finally had a healthy relationship with one of the biggest, yet sweetest, ninja in Konoha—Chouji Akimichi.

However, this relationship between her best friend and her boyfriend only drove Sakura to being even more of a workaholic. She would spend any free time volunteering at the hospital, memorizing the medical textbooks word-for-word, or constantly working on perfecting and strengthening her chakra. Her life became her work, but her love was still Sasuke, the one that betrayed her and Konoha.

----

Sakura walked with Tsunade down the halls of the hospital, glancing in every room she passed by. Tsunade was finally giving her her final exam towards becoming an authorized medical ninja by allowing her to perform surgery on an ICU patient. Tsunade said that this was a very dangerous final exam, for, if she failed (which Tsunade sincerely doubted she would), a person would die—and not just a person, a fellow ninja. Tsunade informed Sakura that the only reason she was allowing her to perform on a dying shinobi was that she trusted Sakura to pass with flying colors—not to mention there were no other ICU patients, other than other ninja, and only a ninja could get injuries that Sakura needed to learn to heal.

They walked into the patient's room, where fie medic-nins were standing above the ninja. Sakura gasped and looked at Tsunade in shock. Tsunade was having her perform the surgery on not just any ninja, but on her former teacher, Kakashi.

"Tsunade-sama…" Sakura began, only to be cut off by Tsunade.

"No time. These medic-nin are only sustaining him. Besides, you're more inclined to pass if it's someone you know. Now, hurry up and get to it!" Tsunade barked. Sakura nodded firmly at Tsunade before quickly hurrying to Kakashi's side.

Sakura concentrated on Kakashi's body. He had several wounds on his arms and legs, none on his face, and a particularly deep wound on his abdomen, which could have potentially pierced a lung. She began by forming green chakra around her hands and holding them above his chest, searching for any punctures in his lungs. When she found a single, shallow wound, she regenerated the cells in his lungs and reformed the spot that was wounded. She then turned her attention to the deep gash on his chest, and similarly used her chakra to regenerate the cells in his chest. She fixed that would with ease and quickly fixed the smaller wounds on his limbs.

After she finished, Kakashi's breathing became less irregular and the machine that was monitoring his heart rate also became a healthy, steady noise that showed a regular heart rate.

"Good job… doctor," Tsunade said with a genuine smile, happy to see a student succeed.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Kakashi's unconscious body. "So, what happened to him?"

"He was on a patrolling mission with three other Jonin, and he was ambushed. Those were the wounds the Cloud-nin gave him before he killed them. One of the other Jonin was an amateur medic-nin, and was able to sustain him for the day left of the mission before they hurried back here to have Kakashi healed," Tsunade explained.

Just after Tsunade finished explaining, Kakashi's eyes fluttered open. "Sakura-chan?" he asked, his eyes squinting in her direction (his mask was pulled down).

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked sweetly, leaning forward so that she could more easily hear him talking, since his voice was raspy and he could only whisper.

"Were you… the one who…?" he asked, unable to finish his question.

"Hai. You were my final exam," Sakura said, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Now, as your doctor, I order you to get some rest in your room and inform the staff if you have any problems breathing," she commanded, before glancing at Tsunade for confirmation. Tsunade gave her a small nod, and Sakura turned back to Kakashi.

"Hai, doctor…" he whispered, smirking lightly behind the mask though he was exhausted and sore. He was taken away on a stretcher. Sakura sighed and folded her hands behind her head, watching silently as the medic-nin took him away and double-checked his vital signs.

----

"So, you finally finished your medic-nin training, eh?" Ino said with a small smile. Ino and Sakura were inside a small teashop called "Vitality". It was small, yet somehow, comforting. There were tables in the center of the shop, and booths alongside the walls. By every both were large windows that were only a few feet from touching the floor and ran around the entire restaurant. It was drizzling lightly outside, so few customers were inside the establishment.

"Yeah… My final exam was on Kakashi, of all people. I was terrified of failing," Sakura admitted, stirring the honey in her tea around for the sixteenth time.

"Wow. That does sound scary," Ino said with a small chuckle. Ino was having trouble saying, "Congratulations" or "Great job", but in her own, still somewhat quirky (with Sakura) way, she was still saying those.

'

"Why don't you specialize? You'd be great in interrogation… Maybe even genjutsu," Sakura pointed out.

"I'm still keeping my options open. I'll know what to specialize in when the time comes," Ino said aloud, telling herself more so than Sakura. "Besides, now that you are a medic-nin, you can just work at the hospital full time! And tons of guys work at the hospital…. They'd jump all over you!" Ino hinted at not so subtly.

"Ha,' Sakura said sarcastically. "My skills are better used on the field. Someone could _die_ before they get to the hospital. Besides, I'm working on making the whole 'one medic-nin per four man team' thing possible. I'm staying on the field, Ino."

"Right, right… Wait a minute. Are… are you… still… in love with Sasuke-teme?" Ino asked, her tone making it obvious she couldn't believe that Sakura was, especially since Sasuke's name had come out in a hiss.

"No," Sakura answered back automatically, keeping her face stoic. "There are more important things than boys, Ino," she said harshly, keeping up a serious façade.

"Sakura, us girls have a small window of time for having children. Do you really want to miss that window?" Ino asked with her eyebrow raised.

"No, I don't. But, then again, I don't think I'd be a good mother. What, are you thinking about it?" Sakura asked, turning the attention back to Ino.

"Yeah, but it'll be after Chouji and I get married… He kind of slow with this kind of stuff, so I have to hint a _lot_ before he does anything," Ino said with a small chuckle.

"So, have you started hinting about marriage?" Sakura asked with a small laugh.

"Yeah, a few times, but he hasn't said anything about it. He's either acting dense or he's scared—maybe both," Ino said with a sigh.

"Speaking of Chouji, didn't you say his birthday was today…?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. He and Shikamaru are having some sort of 'boy's day out' and I'm taking him to dinner tonight," Ino explained with a small nod.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I have to go—there is something I need to get out of the library," Sakura said after glancing at the clock. The librarian said that she'd have a new textbook at that time for uses of medical chakra, and she would reserve it for Sakura for the next few hours.

"All right, you bookworm," Ino drew out jokingly. "But remember—there's more to life than work," she said with a wink.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura said before paying the bill and walking out the restaurant, for the drizzle had subsided and only a few drops were coming down at once.

----

"Can I see that one?" Chouji asked, pointing at an engagement ring behind the glass.

Shikamaru sighed and said, "This is troublesome. How come I have to help you pick out a ring for Ino?"

"Because you know more about girls, Shikamaru," Chouji explained as he held the ring's box, looking at the ring from all angles. "How about this one?" he asked, holding it out to Shikamaru.

"Not enough jewels. Ino is superficial and she'd want either a large diamond or a lot of them," Shikamaru explained.

"Right. Then… that one?" Chouji asked.

"Ino seems more of a gold person than a silver one…" Shikamaru pointed out, rubbing the back of his head in annoyance. _'What kind of guy spends _his_ birthday searching for an _engagement ring_ because his girlfriend hinted at marriage?'_ Shikamaru asked himself before glancing at Chouji. _'Oh, right. It's either 'cause Chouji is a great guy, or he's really whipped. Maybe both… jeez, women can be so troublesome…'_

"Ah! Then this one's perfect, right?" Chouji asked, holding up a golden ring that had a small circle of diamonds. In the middle was a larger diamond.

"Yeah, that one's good," Shikamaru said with a nod.

"This one, then," Chouji said with a sigh, knowing he wouldn't be able to buy much until he finished another mission. _'Good thing I've already stocked up on food and that I've been saving…'_

----

Sakura paced around the room, Ino's words flowing through her head like a torrent of waves. _'We have a small window for having kids… There's more to life than work… After we get married… Are you still in love with Sasuke-teme?… Do you want to miss that window…' _Sakura sighed and sank to the bed, rubbing her temples, for a headache was beginning to form. As if waiting for her to begin to have a headache, the phone rang, throwing her small headache into a larger one.

She picked up the phone reluctantly, and muttered into the phone, "Moshi moshi?"

"Sakura! I… I… Chouji asked! I'm getting married!" Ino shrieked. Even though the loud, now high-pitched noise that was Ino's voice had thrown her headache into a migraine, Sakura couldn't help but be excited for Ino.

"Really? Wow! That… that's great!" Sakura said, trying to not sound depressed.

"I know! You should see the ring he got me! It's… perfect!" Ino exclaimed.

"Big rock?" Sakura asked with a smirk.

"_Tons_ of 'em! I swear, he picked the _absolutely_ most perfect ring _ever_!"

'_Ch, I think Shikamaru helped… After all, he did propose after his 'boy's day out'…' _Sakura thought cynically before saying, "Congratulations, Mrs. Akimichi." She paused, not knowing what else to say. "So, when will it be held?"

"Chouji is letting me decide _everything_! I've already decided it'll be held in the spring after the sakura flowers bloom, and we'll hold it outside underneath that really huge sakura tree… You're going to be my maid of honor, of course, and Shikamaru will be the best man. I know Hinata and Tenten are going to be bride's maids, but I'm still not sure about the others…" Ino began ranting.

"Well, considering it's _August_, you'll have a while to plan," Sakura said with a small laugh.

"Oh, it needs to be planned as soon as possible," Ino said seriously.

"You make it sound like you're having a fall wedding," Sakura said sarcastically. "So, are you staying on the field, or are you becoming a stay at home type of mother?"

"You know once you're a ninja, you're always a ninja," Ino said with a sigh.

"That's true, but if you're a stay at home type, you'd only be called out for emergencies."

"… We'll have to get a nanny," Ino said with a laugh.

----

The days flowed by for Sakura. The only thing that kept her tied in with actual timing was Ino's rants of the wedding plans and Chouji. A few weeks after he proposed (and after having so many missions it made his head spin), Ino asked about living together. They decided that moving together before the wedding was okay, and started picking out a house. Sakura also went on missions, but most of her time was spent at the hospital, where she could constantly put her medical knowledge to use when she wasn't on a mission. Ino still constantly told her that she needed to get a boyfriend, and even Tsunade mentioned a few times that she needed a break from work.

Sakura ignored all of their comments and just pushed harder. She had no clue why she was working so hard—after all, her apartment didn't cost much, she didn't eat much, and it wasn't like she was Ino or Chouji and wanting to buy a house. It wasn't as if she was trying to beat some in particular (not anymore, at least—she and Ino's competitive drive had died down long ago), and it wasn't as if she really wanted to be the strongest shinobi. She just… worked to fill the time. But, even though she spent the vast majority of her time working, she couldn't help but think of Ino's words, over and over again.

'_How come the only person I've ever liked that way was evil? Why did he betray me? Why? Maybe… maybe he was testing me! Maybe, maybe… maybe he was seeing if I'd follow him _anywhere_! And, if I do follow him… Maybe he'll ask me to marry him! He might be so impressed with how much I've improved that… that he'll have to fall in love with me!'_ Sakura thought to herself exuberantly.

She grabbed a bag and quickly filled it with clothes and a few provisions. She put on some normal clothes, and walked out into the street. She glanced around, just to make sure no one was watching her suspiciously (it was, after all, only about nine in the evening), and set off down the street.

Meanwhile, Chouji was leading Ino by the arm to a house that a real estate seller had shown to him earlier that evening, while Ino was on a half-day C-rank mission. "So, how amazing is this house that you dragged me out of my apartment at nine to show to me?"

"It's… perfect," Chouji summed up. "Lot's of space… two bedrooms… an extra room that can be turned into an office or study… large bathroom and kitchen… It's great, Ino," he said with a smile. _'That, and Shikamaru helped…'_

"And what does Shikamaru think about it?" Ino asked slyly.

"U-um, well…" Chouji began, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's okay. It's obvious you value Shikamaru's opinion. I don't mind," Ino said with a small nudge. "But, be careful. I might chase after him," she joked in a singsong voice.

"… I want you to live," Chouji replied, referring to Temari.

"Yeah, yeah… Sakura?" Ino asked, startled by having seen her best friend walk across the street to one of the exits of Konoha.

Sakura didn't hear Ino as she hurried down the road, nor did she even notice her and Chouji together. She just continued, her mind set on finding Sasuke—even though she honestly had no clue where he could be.

"Hold on," Ino said to Chouji, excusing herself. Chouji gave her a curt nod before she ran off to confront Sakura.

"Sakura? What… what's going on?" Ino asked, slightly shocked. _'Relax… it could be a mission… Alone? And so suddenly after work? But then again, why would she…?'_ Ino asked herself in a flurry of doubting Sakura and confusion.

"Ino! I'm… I…" Sakura began, tripping over her words, unsure of what to say to Ino.

"Are you running away?" Ino asked, feigning seriousness instead of confusion.

"No! Well, sort of, in a way… But… I… I'm doing what you said to do! I'm… I'm… chasing my destiny!"

"… And how long is 'chasing your destiny' going to take?"

"Somewhere between five minutes and forever," Sakura muttered.

"Ch. Sakura, you need to think about this rationally…" Ino began, attempting to calm down her obviously frazzled friend.

"No! Every… every time I think rationally, I end up contradicting what I really want and… and driving myself to do something I don't really want! I'm miserable when I think rationally! But… but maybe if I do something without too much contemplation…"

"Just what are you trying to do?" Ino hissed, annoyed with Sakura's logic. _'She's hit rock bottom. She needs rest and some sort of professional help… Wait! 'Chasing her destiny… Running away… May take forever… Not thinking rationally… She's… Oh my god, she's going after Sasuke!'_ Ino concluded accurately, finally realizing what it was that Sakura was attempting to do.

"I…" Sakura began, before biting her lip and looking away. _'That's just proof it's Sasuke,'_ Ino noted.

"Sakura… give up on him already. You… need to move on. He's a bastard, and he'll always be a cold-hearted, unmoral bastard. Do… do you remember what he did to you? He… just threw you aside. You deserve someone who'll pick people over power. Even if you think that you'll be happy like that, you'll just…"

"No!" Sakura screamed, cutting Ino off. "Damn it, butt out!" she screeched before turning and running away from Ino, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She knew, deep down, that Ino was right… and yet she couldn't stop the feeling that had been welling inside of her for such a long time.

She needed to see him. She needed clearance. She needed happiness.

A/N: I think this is a good (re)first chapter. –nod nod- I actually have a good reason for Sakura's… craziness, and Ino'll find out about it next chapter. I've also developed Ino and Chouji's relationship a bit more, and they're working to get a house and get married. Takara might take a bit longer to be worked into the story, but she'll still be a character, but I'll also change and refine her a bit.

I'm sorry about redoing this story before it even ended, but I felt like I really needed to! ;D Thanks, my loyal readers for continuing to read it, and for the new readers who might just now be tuning in, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**All In The Name Of A One Sided Love**

Ino had been following Sakura for a while now. All she knew was that she started at night, and now the sky was turning lighter—not quite sunrise yet, but close enough to be described as 'day'. Ino was beginning to feel fatigued, and since neither she nor Sakura knew where they were going—or were even prepared for going—they were relying solely on stored energy. Ino kept thinking of Chouji, and what the punishment for trying to chase after Sakura would be. It could be as severe as imprisonment, demotion, or no to little pay for the next few weeks, to something like having to do D-missions for a long, _long _time.

Ino had long ago started falling back, following Sakura to where Sakura wouldn't know she was still being followed. Sakura supposed Ino had given up catching her, but for the first few hours, she still remained wary of any signs of Ino following her. After many hours, however, her paranoia had subsided, and she was feeling extremely tired. She was being driven by her "other" side, and she knew it—but her "other" side wasn't breaking this time.

She allowed her "other" side to carry her to a small town, and inside a dirty bar to perhaps find information. She sat at the counter and automatically ordered sake, though she was underage. Much to her relief, the bartended didn't ask for ID before simply nodding, grabbing a bottle, and handing her the small, pitcher-like bottle and a cup. She muttered a half-hearted "Thanks" before gulping down a cup of it, completely ignoring the fact that it would not take long for her to get drunk.

_Sakura could feel herself wanting to go back to Konoha, but a sort of explosion forced her to go and find Sasuke. Really, her other side was like a little kid—it wanted what it wanted, and would do anything in it's power to get what it wanted. And it wanted Sasuke. As she felt her other self forcing her to go through the forest, and then go into the town, she knew her other side's resolve had changed from "find Sasuke" to "I wonder what getting drunk is like?"_

Ino winced as she watched Sakura gulp down cup after cup of the pure white alcohol. She could see the lust in the old men's eyes, as if they were telling themselves, "Just a few more drinks and she'll agree to come to my place…" Ino decided that now was the time to overtake Sakura's body, before she did something stupid.

"Shintenshin no jutsu," she whispered, forming her hand seal. Her soul slowly levitated out of herself, and made it's way to Sakura ever so slowly. It finally arrived nearly twenty seconds later, and Ino could feel herself inside of Sakura.

Even though Ino now quite technically 'had control', Sakura was still drinking. And drinking. Ino could feel herself get tipsy, and she was wondering why she didn't have control of Sakura's body.

After thinking it over, Ino finally remembered the Chuunin exams—it was as if there were two Sakura's. But now… it was as if the second Sakura had completely overtaken Sakura. Sakura was now dormant, while her 'other' side was controlling her body. Sakura's actual consciousness had apparently given up long ago, a simple blip in Sakura's mind.

Ino released the jutsu, scared of what she had seen. Sakura's second consciousness was controlling Sakura, ignoring all of Sakura's limits. Sakura's body was worn out, and she was making it worse by making her extremely drunk. Once Ino was back in her body, she watched as Sakura nearly threw up before continuing to drink. Ino rushed over to Sakura, grabbed her by the arm, and even though Sakura's second consciousness could have easily taken her sober, she forced Sakura out of the bar.

The men groaned as they watched the only two women in the bar walk out together, one not drunk enough and the other far too drunk.

In the corner of the room, one man, however, did not groan, growl, or complain. He simply smirked to himself darkly, paid his tab for the (poor excuse of a) meal, and left the bar, his long black hair flipping out behind him.

----

Ino winced as she felt Sakura's body tremor and heard the sickening splash of Sakura, once again, vomiting into the toilet. Sakura heaved, her breathing deep, and her words a slur.

"Swirly!" Sakura demanded of Ino, and Ino sighed, flushing the toilet. "Whoo!" Sakura called down into the toilet, barely audible over the roar of it's flushing.

Ino lifted Sakura's head back up, causing another wave of nausea for Sakura, Sakura leaned forward and threw up again, demanding, once again, for the "Swirly".

After many minutes of this, Sakura finally passed out. Ino sighed, stood her up, undressed her, and hosed her off in the shower, rinsing out the throw up from her hair and cleaning her body quickly with the oddly gray soap the hotel provided. Ino pulled her out of the shower with some difficulty, toweling her off and then wrapping the towel around her.

Ino could not possibly put on Sakura's now barf-covered clothes _back_ on her, not right after cleaning her. Ino decided that laundry would need to be done, so she went ahead and took off her shirt and skirt, leaving her in only a thin tank top, short shorts, and her underwear. She complied all of their clothes, and made her way to the in facility washer and dryer.

----

"Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno?" Sasuke asked Orochimaru in confirmation with a deep-set frown.

"Hai…" Orochimaru hissed. "I have heard rumors of Sakura being Tsunade-hime's apprentice, and Ino… Well, Ino is expendable," Orochimaru explained.

"And Sakura was at a bar? Drunk?" Sasuke asked, hardly believing his story—not that he had any reason to think that Orochimaru was lying, anyways.

"Yes… quite, in fact. I had have a mind to pick her up myself…" Orochimaru mused to himself. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, fully knowing of Orochimaru's sexuality. "Oh, no… Not for me. For you, or perhaps Kabuto. Yes, I believe Kabuto and her would be an interesting couple…"

"Why are you keen on me or Kabuto having children?" Sasuke asked exasperated.

"Because I'm running low on faithful followers. You and Kabuto… well, if you had children, I'd have some prepared followers in a few decades. Besides, having another with the Sharingan before the ritual would be… beneficial," Orochimaru explained slyly.

"Understood. But I don't think that Sakura and Ino would make good… wives? Mistresses? Nannies?" Sasuke commented aloud, wondering what they'd be.

"I'd say mistresses and nannies… But, they'd be better for it than someone like, say, the now deceased Tayuya or Takara…" Orochimaru pointed out.

"I still don't agree that they'd make good choices," Sasuke muttered.

"Well, which one do you want?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk.

"Let Kabuto choose first, I suppose. I don't really care," Sasuke remarked with a sigh.

"Oh, really? Are you completely sure? I'm sure Sakura is loads better than Ino…"

"What makes you think that?"

"She's completed her medic-nin training—or so the rumor goes, in even less time than it took Tsunade to complete it. She already has strength that rivals Tsunade's. She'll be even stronger than Tsunade, if she keeps up this pace."

"And Ino? What achievements has she gained?" Sasuke asked.

"She's learned a good deal of Mind Jutsu, but that's about it. She hasn't specialized or anything."

"How recent is this information?" Sasuke asked for confirmation.

"Kabuto got this data only a month or so ago. Very recent."

"I see… Any other information, like relationships or work habits…?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"Sakura is a workaholic, apparently. Ino is more relaxed about training, but is going out with Chouji Akimichi," Orochimaru said, reciting the information cards Kabuto had on them.

'_Ch, both of those are unexpected. Sakura is a workaholic and _not_ in a relationship? And Ino is going out with fatass?'_ Sasuke thought to himself. "What about our current mission?"

"We'll wait until after we kill him before we even worry about impregnating Sakura and Ino—they'll need to be brainwashed, anyways," Orochimaru said sadistically.

"We have brainwashing technology?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow, slightly confused he'd never heard of it in the years he had spent with Orochimaru.

"No… but close. Kabuto is very persuasive. We'll have him keep them in Lair 79 until we come back. He can train them, and gain their trust, convince them that they'll be needed and that they'll want to stay. Trust me—he'll have them convinced, or broken, by the time we get back."

"Have whom convinced?" Kabuto asked from the doorway as he walked in.

"Ah, Kabuto. Well, how would you like a project instead of just tagging along…?" Orochimaru asked, trailing off, knowing Kabuto would take the bait.

"What kind of a project?" Kabuto asked with a small smirk.

----

Ino sat beside the dryer, leaning against it while sitting in an old chair as she read the scroll. She skipped through some of the jutsu on it—some could only be used by men, since their minds worked differently than women's. However, once she got to the unisex and the few female mind jutsu, she began reading intently, practicing seals and names as she did so. There was no actual way to be sure if she got it right, unless she had someone to practice on. Chouji was usually up for allowing himself to be a guinea pig, and sometimes if Chouji wasn't available, Shikamaru would allow himself to be used. The backup for both of those was her father, but he got somewhat annoying—he'd talk about strange things while she was trying to concentrate, as if he was trying to break her concentration.

The dryer buzzed, signaling it was finished. Ino stood up, stretched, and pulled the clothes out of the dryer. She had no bags or hamper, so she had to carry them all in her arms. She quickly pulled on her clothes and slipped the scroll into a small carry behind the flap of her skirt.

She was on her way out when she nearly bumped into a cloaked man walking in. "Gomen-nasai," he said, his tone and voice, even the manner he carried himself, overly-polite.

"No, it's okay…" she said, waving her hand back in forth in a dismissive manner. _'This guy… is strange…'_ she thought to herself. She walked past him, glancing backwards at him as she did so. When the door to the laundry room swung closed, Kabuto lifted up the key that he had taken from her in the brief time period she was waving her hand smirk.

"Far too easy…" he commented with a smirk.

----

Ino went into the room, which she hadn't bothered to lock, and closed it behind her. The town really was small—from the looks of the counter of the hotel, only one other room was occupied. And, from the looks of the rest of the town, there couldn't be more than twenty families in it. There were no signs of any crime, and few signs of life outside of the bar and hotel.

Ino locked the door behind her, just in case, as the man she had nearly bumped into startled her. She sighed, and glanced downwards at Sakura. She slipped on a pair of shorts and her undershirt on, so that she wouldn't get too warm, and laid out the rest of the clothes at the foot of the bed. Ino laid down on top of the covers, and fell asleep.

----

"You have the key?" Orochimaru asked upon Kabuto's entrance.

"Hai," he replied curtly.

"Very well, then. Here are the sedatives. Inject half into one of the girls, and the other half into the other. They'll be asleep long enough for you to get to the lair," Orochimaru instructed. "And be sure to take extra care of Sakura," Orochimaru added as an afterthought, an evil grin on his face.

"Do I tell them about their fate?" Kabuto asked, hiding all signs of uncertainty.

"No. They'll be harder to control," Orochimaru decided. "But, be sure to treat them nicely—real rooms and service and all," he said with a nod. "You are dismissed," Orochimaru said with a wave of his hand.

"Understood," Kabuto said, giving a slight bow before leaving the room, the door snapping shut behind him.

He glanced down the hallway and the other way, not wanting to have to knock out or kill a hotel worker. He checked the key number, even though he was sure that it was room 104. He unlocked the room as silently as he could and slipped into the darkness. Both Ino and Sakura were passed out. Just as a precaution, for Ino would gain consciousness faster than Sakura, he injected the first half of the serum into Ino, before walking around the bed to inject Sakura with the serum. Both of their bodies shuddered violently, the serum taking over their bodies. When they stopped, Kabuto nodded and lifted the two girls easily, using chakra to increase his strength. He walked out of the room, and glancing down the hallway once more. He ran to one end of the hallway, jumping out of a window and landing with a thump onto a large tree branch.

----

The day and a half of running, even with the soldier's pills Kabuto took every few hours, wore him out. He had to constantly use his chakra, otherwise there'd be no way to carry them and jump from tree to tree. He finally arrived at the lair, which was an artificially made tree. It was humongous, but blended well enough into the forest to look natural. That lair was rarely used, because it 'reminded Sasuke too much of Konoha'. Kabuto still liked it, however, because it had a great view and was located by a good training spot.

He went to the base of the tree, setting down Ino and Sakura's still unconscious bodies. He formed a few seals and muttered, "Revealing Jutsu". He then pressed his palms against the tree, the blue light of regular chakra flowing from his fingertips. The chakra made patterns into the tree, the tree identifying Kabuto by his chakra signature. A panel slid open, and Kabuto quickly pushed in the code 15937-2468. **(1)** The door to the lair slid open as Kabuto placed another soldier's pill into his mouth. He picked up Ino and Sakura once again, before making his way into the lair. The door automatically sealed itself behind him, and Kabuto walked down the dark corridor. The torches lit themselves as he walked past them, casting an eerie light, just lighting his way enough for him to see.

He suddenly stopped and turned to the right, pushing a rock—which was really a button—and walking into the hallway it led to. The lair was unpopulated, having been abandoned after Sasuke showed his dislike for it. Kabuto considered sending for servants, but decided against it. He walked up to a door—which was not hidden—and set Ino down on the bed before leaving and locking it from the outside. He did the same to Sakura, except to the room across from Ino's room. Kabuto then went to the room that was reserved for him, just beside the two rooms. He opened it up using his own code—so that no one could intrude when he was working—and typed in the code K1A2B3U4T5O6, a code that wasn't very brilliant, but was clever enough to never be figured out. **(2)**

Kabuto flopped on his bed, kicking off his now extremely dirty sandals and sighed. He fell asleep rather quickly, exhausted from his trip and convinced that, even if Sakura and/or Ino awoke before him, they would not be able to escape.

----

**(1) – Look at your keypad and pretend to push the numbers in. It makes a pattern, just 'cause I'm a genius.**

**(2) – If you take the letters and numbers apart, it's just KABUTO and 123456 put together. Don't you love my ingenuity?**

**I hope you liked the new chapter, even though it took a while to get out. And yes, I put them in the middle of a forest. Why? I felt like it. And yes, I'm strengthening the whole 'we must impregnate Sakura and Ino' thing. Review, please? )**


	3. Chapter 3

**All In The Name Of A One Sided Love**

Sakura awoke, sore from the exhausting amounts of jumping and running she had done yesterday, with a splitting headache, and the taste of throw up in her mouth. Her head felt like it was splitting open, and she had no recollection of what had happened the night before, except that her other side had done it.

How, though?

How could her other side possibly take over her body? She had always suppressed it before; she had always had the will to suppress it… Maybe she was losing her will to do so? Maybe she really wanted what her other side wanted?

No. She hated Sasuke. That's all there is to it. She wanted, _needed_, him dead, or at least, back on Konoha's side with vast amounts of loyalty.

The door creaked open, and Sakura jumped in surprise, the headache peaking a little before going back down to it's level before. Kabuto appeared in the doorway, holding a tray of what had to be food.

"Good morning, Sakura-san," he said brightly, walking up to her and setting the tray down.

'_What a dumbass…'_ she found herself thinking. She flew to her feet and reached for her shuriken, only to hit her thigh instead of weapon belt.

Kabuto wagged his finger in a reprimanding motion, clucking at her as if she was a little girl who had just eaten dirt.

"Ah, ah, ah, Sakura-san. Did you think I would leave you with weapons? Besides, this place is run by code—no keys to steal here. You'd have to memorize the codes, and there's no way I'm giving you a code. There's not even a single window, nor is there a room that isn't run by code. I'll give you the codes to every room I think you should have. Training room, library, dining room… Oh, and you get to set your own room code, but I have to know it," he explained with a nod.

"I'm not the usual prisoner, am I?" Sakura asked with a glare, a sort of hiss to her voice. She was angry that he had managed to kidnap her, and was sure that, had her second side not gotten in the way, it never would have happened.

"No. No, you're not. Not even close. You and Ino-san are to be pampered," Kabuto confirmed with a nod. "You two are… honored guests of sorts. You'll find out why much later. Enjoy your cereal, Sakura-san," he said, dismissing himself.

"Don't call us by our first name, Yakushi-san," Sakura said coldly from the bed. She stared down at the cereal, unsure of whether or not it was safe to eat. There could be a number of things wrong with it, from using spoiled milk and/or stale cereal to serious poisoning.

'_If he wanted to poison you, he would have done so long before now. You're an honored guest, remember? That's got to account for something,' _a voice in the back of her head told her. She nodded and began to eat the cereal, deciding after a few bites that nothing at all had been added to the cereal except milk.

'_I wonder if Ino is alright…'_ Sakura asked herself as she put the bowl, spoon, and tray to the side. She stood up and looked around, taking in her surroundings. There was a shower, a bed, a nightstand, a large dresser, a full-length and a desk in the corner of the room. However, all of this was quite elaborate and extremely pretty—Sakura wondered if they made their own furniture, or actually bought it.

'_Ch, probably stole it…'_ she thought bitterly. She looked through the drawers and drawers of the dresser, but was annoyed in finding out that the only clothes she could change into were all Orochimaru's style, fitted to fit a female. She looked down at herself, and noticed she was covered in dirt and leaves, especially her clothes.

She needed to shower and change.

She grabbed a set of clothes and examined it. She took the rope belt that was supposed to be tied around her waist and threw it aside, it now dejectedly lying in the corner. She looked around the outfit for any signs of other Sound Village emblems, but was relieved to find none at all, other than perhaps the rope belt (which she had always thought was gaudy, anyways). She took the clothes and went into the bathroom, preparing to take her shower.

----

She admired herself in the full-length mirror. The gray and brown contrasted extremely with her bright eyes and pink hair, which didn't look attractive at all on her. Even Naruto's bright orange would have looked better on her. She groaned and stretched before glancing at the door.

'_It doesn't hurt to try…'_ the same voice from before told her. She nodded and grasped the door handle, waiting, as if wondering if she would be electrocuted or something similar. She turned the knob, shocked to find that it wasn't locked. She glanced around just outside of the door, checking to see if guards or someone—_anyone_—was waiting to attack her.

Nothing… not even Kabuto. She stepped outside of the room and glanced around, stomping on the ground, as if wondering when the floor would give way to some trapdoor.

Nothing.

"We don't bobby trap our wing, you know. We all sleep here, and if someone is trying to kill us, it takes a Sanin to get this far. And if the Sanin even makes it, they'd be fighting Orochimaru by this point," Kabuto explained with a smirk.

Sakura let out a breath of annoyance. "So, what am I doing today, anyways? Just rotting away in this hallway?" Sakura asked, her tone giving away her annoyance just _slightly_.

Kabuto stared at her and blinked slowly, as if contemplating her sanity. "No, you'll be training. What, did you think I'd let you and Ino-chan rot away?"

"Stop using our first names, and stop using the '-chan'!" Sakura yelled, angry that he was being so casual with them, as if the two girls were only sleeping over.

"Yeah, yeah…" Kabuto said, pretty much ignoring her comment with a hand wave. "Do you suppose Ino is out of her shower yet?"

"What makes you think she's taking a shower?" Sakura asked, rolling her eyes.

"Because it is a sane human's impulse to clean themselves when they're dirty," Kabuto explained simply. At this comment, Ino stepped out of the room, similarly dressed in Sound clothes.

"Can we do something about the wardrobe?" Ino asked dejectedly, obviously depressed. Sakura was pretty sure she knew why.

"Not a thing," Kabuto said, without giving it a second thought.

"Can you do anything about my damn hangover?" Sakura asked with a growl, as her head began throbbing. She definitely had a full-blown migraine at this point, for the pain in her head alone was giving her nausea.

"No, we don't keep hangover remedies. You'll have to wait it out," Kabuto said, actually thinking about it this time. "I think I'll show you two around… and give you the passwords," Kabuto decided, after thinking for a few moments.

He began walking away, and the girls followed dejectedly. There was nothing better to do, and really, they were in his power. They wouldn't resist—not for the moment, anyways.

----

The first room he showed them was the library, which only Sakura really was interested in. It was a large room, well lit, and full to the brim of books. There were large chandeliers in the middle of room, golden with equally perpetual golden lights shining on them. The bookshelves were large and made of wood, though they weren't sorted by category or alphabetized at all.

The second room was the dining room, which was smaller, but with a similar design. The chandeliers, tables, and the walls were the same, except it was connected to the kitchen, and the ceiling was much lower. Kabuto had told them that they weren't to be as pampered as they were that morning, and they'd have to go and get their own breakfast. Breakfast was at six, lunch was at one, and dinner was at seven. These meals were usually a 'every man for himself' sort of affair, so they'd have to cook for themselves. Every few weeks Kabuto would go out and buy supplies, paid for by money which was undoubtedly stolen, unless Orochimaru inherited billions upon billions of dollars.

The third room was the most different of them all. It looked like a modern gym, with many different places to weight lifts for different areas on the body. In the middle of the room was a large circle, where apparently people sparred, though no one had sparred there for years. The floor was vinyl, and the walls were a very light blue tile, which contrasted deeply with the designs of the other rooms. Kabuto wrote down the passwords to each of these rooms, and they were all just as random as the next.

After giving them the grand, detailed tour, they ate lunch. Sakura and Ino made themselves sandwiches, while Kabuto ate canned ravioli. To their horror, he ate the ravioli straight out of the can, the sauce and everything still cold **(1)**.

"You have a microwave," Sakura stated dumbly, more as a statement than a question.

"Yep," Kabuto replied, as he popped another one into his mouth.

"And you're eating it cold?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow in shock.

"Yes. I love these things. In case you didn't notice, there is a huge cabinet full of these. It's my daily lunch," Kabuto said with a smirk.

"You're disgusting," Sakura replied, shaking her head lightly.

"Says the one who's eating _peanut butter_," Kabuto said, giving off a fake shudder **(2)**.

"Hey! Peanut butter makes the world go 'round!" Ino argued.

'_Yes… they are beginning to think of you as a friend, somewhat…'_ Kabuto said to himself, keeping a self-satisfied smirk hidden underneath the surface.

"Nah. It's chocolate," Sakura said matter-of-factly. Then she paused and mouthed to herself, 'Chocolate?' as if she hadn't meant to say that.

"Something wrong, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Yeah… I tried saying 'mocha latte' but… it came out as chocolate…" Sakura explained.

"Weird… I thought your chocolate obsession ended a little after Sakura left…" Ino mused.

"It did. I didn't touch chocolate again for a long time, and even then it was only a bite…" Sakura explained.

'_Somehow, I've heard of this… Somewhere,'_ Kabuto told himself with a frown. Something was going on, and it sounded like a mental illness.

----

Sakura awoke the next day and glanced to her left, where the nightstand was. The digital clock said that it was five thirty, just enough time to be able to catch a quick shower before eating breakfast. Why the Sound nin got up and ate so early, Sakura didn't know, but it was kind of nice to have some sort of schedule to go around.

She frowned at herself, berating herself about how she was almost enjoying staying there. Half of her just wanted to be _home_, to do work with Tsunade, to hang out with Shizune, and to even talk about Chouji and Shikamaru with Ino… But the other half desperately wanted, needed to be away from Konoha. The other half was going on and on about how much of an adventure this was, and how awesome it was to be in such close quarters with only Ino and Kabuto. That same side was even somewhat infatuated with Kabuto!

'_I'm growing weak again…'_ Sakura told herself.

'_No, you're not. You're becoming human!'_ a voice, which once sounded like herself, but now sounded totally different exclaimed.

'_Who are you?'_ Sakura asked the voice, but was annoyed to find that the voice stubbornly refused to respond.

She found that she had used up a good five minutes arguing with the voice. She growled in annoyance and stood up with a huff, rushing off to take a shower at super-speed.

----

She ate breakfast alone, and wondered if Ino even remembered to get up for it. Kabuto seemed like he had already eaten and gone—there was a lone spoon and bowl when she came in the room. She stood, and contemplated going to the training room, back to her room, or to the library. After deciding on the latter, she walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and to the library. She entered in the code with a flourish, having memorized them all the night before.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Kabuto sitting down, reading a scroll. She couldn't see the title, but she had a feeling it had something to do with her or something else he didn't want her to see, for as soon as she came in, he jumped as well, and slammed the scroll down title-first, leaning over it 'casually' to hide what the pages contained.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan! I'm surprised you've woken so early," he began, trying his best to start a conversation and keep her mind off the book.

"Uh-huh. And stop using my first name and the '-chan'," she growled as she passed by him, no longer caring that he was in the room.

----

A near week passed by, along that schedule. Sakura would get up, shower, eat, read for hours upon hours, eat, work out for hours, eat, change into pajamas, and sleep. She noticed that Kabuto was still working on becoming 'friends' with them, or rather, put up the illusion they were friends. Ino continuously slipped in and out of depression. One day, Sakura caught her friend holding up a huge weight, frozen in place. It was not that the weight was too much for her to handle—otherwise, she would have called out—but she was obviously thinking about something, and her thoughts were so depressing she just stopped working out, more than likely without even realizing it.

Kabuto continuously read books and scrolls, all about mental diseases, but never ever let her see the titles. Every once in a while, Sakura and/or Ino would attempt to figure out the code to the front door, only for the alarm to and to call Kabuto. He'd shake his head, reprimand them, and haul them away by the wrist, as if they were little kids trying to get into a cookie jar.

Sakura was still constantly arguing with the voice in her head, however.

'_C'mon, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!'_ the voice would protest.

'_So, when I'm a prisoner, I should drink lemonade?'_ she'd retort, annoyed that her voice was still pressing this.

'_Exactly! You don't drink enough lemonade! Wait… no, you don't enjoy life enough,'_ the voice corrected itself. The voice didn't seem to mind having to correct itself, while Sakura thought deeply before speaking one comment.

'_Why don't you shut up?'_ Sakura would ask testily.

'_Heh. Try and make me,'_ the voice would joke.

----

"Damn it! I have no clue what it could be at all!" Kabuto growled, shoving yet another book onto the shelf. "Looks like I have no choice…" he muttered, before walking over to the table nad taking out a piece of paper and a pen.

'_Dear Takara,_

_I require your services._

_--Kabuto'_

He sent the owl away with the letter, awaiting Takara's arrival.

----

**(1) – Yummy. Inspired by none other than me! )**

**(2) – I'm not too fond of peanut butter, but I love it when it's paired with chocolate, honey, or jelly.**

**A/N: Check out my homepage, for it has a detailed calendar of (about) when I should be letting out new chapters and such (ignoring oneshots, of course...) **


	4. Chapter 4

**All In The Name Of A One Sided Love**

The next two days passed uneventfully. Ino was becoming increasingly worried about her friend, and Kabuto was awaiting the arrival of Takara, someone who had come to be known as one of the most wanted fugitives on Orochimaru's list. However, as Orochimaru did not know, Takara and Kabuto had become friends, and in fact, Kabuto retrieved a lot of information from her.

Takara was a forty-year-old elite ninja, who originally came from the Village Hidden in the Mist. She didn't look quite as old as she was, but Kabuto suspected a genjutsu to hide her real appearances. She changed the way she looked every time she saw Orochimaru, and only then. Currently, unless she met Orochimaru unbeknownst to Kabuto, she had shoulder-length brown hair and caramel brown eyes, tanned skin, and was somewhat of medium stature—not skinny, not fat. Sometimes she was extremely skinny, and, though rarely, she sometimes even went for the much thicker side of ninja. Sometimes, to even further throw Orochimaru off of her tracks, she posed as a guy.

Ino was growing increasingly worried about Sakura. Sometimes, she seemed to be normal. Other times, she would appear to be talking to herself, both aloud and inside her mind, for she would daze off and just continue doing her tasks mindlessly (usually in the gym). This, however, was just a segue for her acting completely opposite of herself—she'd do or say something totally unlike her. From what Ino could remember, she would act similar to how she did when she was twelve. Ino couldn't really picture Sakura at that age, or when she made the transition from the annoying twelve-year-old to the mature Sakura, but Ino figured it was either right after Sasuke's departure or early on during her training with Tsunade.

When Takara did arrive, she entered the front door with ease, as if she had memorized all of the codes to every lair. When she entered so abruptly, Kabuto would have freaked out, if not for the fact that he had been expecting her, added onto the fact that he could read her chakra signature as easily as he could read a book. When she entered the Library, Kabuto calmly turned, smirk, and asked her how she was.

"How am I? What do you need _me_ for? Do you think you're going insane in this huge lair by yourself or something?" Takara demanded. Kabuto frowned—he had never elaborated that he needed it for Sakura.

Kabuto sighed and began to brief his old friend, unconcerned about being overheard for Sakura and Ino were in the gym. "Well, you see, Orochimaru had me abduct two young ladies—Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka—just before he and Sasuke left to go murder Sasuke's older brother. When they come back, I will have brainwashed them and convinced them that they're on our side. And when they do come back… Sasuke will impregnate Sakura, and I shall impregnate Ino, for he is running lower on followers," Kabuto explained.

Takara, who by now, had taken a seat, folded her hands over each other and leaned forward, her head resting on her hands. "So, what you're saying is, Orochimaru is going to directly produce an army of young followers from the two of them?"

Kabuto nodded silently.

"And you're going along with that? What, are they going to be nannies? mistresses? ninja for Orochimaru's side who just happen to also raise kids? what will happen to the children if their mother's die? will you take care of them?" Takara asked, a flurry of questions coming out at once.

"I'm glad I thought to put a sound-proof barrier in this room…" Kabuto muttered aloud. "Yes, nannies of sorts, but not mistresses. They will also work, of course, but nothing that's too… Lethal until the children grow of age. And, if they do die before that, I'd probably ending up being the poor scum that has to raise the kids." He sighed and continued, "But, to brief you on what you actually came here to do, the one I need you to check out is Sakura. She has an obvious mental condition, but I can't place it. I'd say it was multiple personalities, but it seems to go deeper, more specific than that."

Takara nodded and sighed. "Perhaps I should talk to her other self?"

"Shall I get her now, or later?"

----

Sakura was extremely confused. One minute, she was exercising with the weights, and then the next, Kabuto and a strange lady—who Sakura had yet to be introduced to—had drug her off into another room, one she had never seen before. Ino was equally, if not more so confused, and was quite worried that Kabuto would be doing things with ill intentions (from rape, to torture, to murder) to Sakura, and it was making her extremely anxious.

Sakura sat in the middle of the damp room, looking around, trying to take it. From what she could tell, it was a small room, about walk-in closet size. They had her sit on top of a strange symbol, one which read "Onurah Arukas Fo Dnim Eht Otni Yawetag Eht" around the edges. Sakura tilted her head in confusion, and looked up at Kabuto.

"Read it backwards he simply said, as he began to draw yet another circle around the circle and the words. "The Gateway Into The Mind Of Sakura Haruno" was what she read, and sat, shocked. _No_, wait. She couldn't move at all! It was as if some invisible force was holding her still, stuck looking straight ahead.

"Let's go," Takara commanded Kabuto, and he nodded. He sat in front of her, and began to hypnotize her into a dreamless soft of sleep. Takara then put her hands onto the ground, and pushed her chakra through the circle…

----

The mind of Sakura Haruno was an odd one indeed. In the hallways of the mind, which were usually decorated in only one type of design that truly fitted the person, it was half pink and stuffed animals, the other half dark and dank, the norm for ninja. She looked at the doorways of memories and the pictures that lined every wall, glancing barely at each. On one door, there was a picture of Sasuke, and that happened to be on the pink side of the hallway. A picture of Tsunade was on the darker side, and a picture of Ino was on both sides of the hallways.

Takara did not go into any of these doors, for none of them were important. There were hundreds of doors per sides, all full of memories that may have been long forgotten. Some even included Sakura as a toddler, and some from just the day before in the lair. When she finally reached the end of the impossibly long hallway, she found a large opening with two doors, cutting the door into two separate pieces, one on each side of the hallway—one completely pink, the other completely black.

'_As a ninja, black must be her current personality… So the pink is her other, neh?'_ Takara decided before entering inside that door.

She saw an image of Sakura seemingly meditating in the middle of the room, her legs crossed and her hands out. "Yes?" the voice answered evenly.

"Excuse me… Are you Sakura's first personality, or the one that lurks beneath the surface?" Takara asked carefully.

"The one beneath the surface, if that is what you call the other Sakura hiding me away," she answered, somewhat coldly.

"I'm sorry, I pictured you to be more… extreme. You seem depressed, compared to what Kabuto said about you," she explained, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

"I'm depressed," she said, once again so evenly it was scary.

"Why?"

"Because, Sakura and I had a discussion, and she said it was stupid of me to dream of marriage between Saku-chan and Sasu-kun," the voice explained.

"Saku-chan…? Sasu-kun…?" Takara asked, confused.

"Me and Sasuke Uchiha," the voice answered back with a huff.

"You call yourself Saku-chan?" Takara asked, almost laughing.

"Well, I can't be considered Sakura, now can I?" the voice asked.

"Well, who knows? Maybe you and Sasu-kun will yet be married," Takara pointed out, trying to cheer up the voice.

"Really?" the voice asked cautiously, finally opening an eye. Shockingly, the eye was, instead of green, pink.

"Yes. Really," Takara said with a nod.

"Hmm…." The voice thought, before concluding, "Yeah! You're right! Neh, neh, can you tell Saku-chan where Sasu-kun is right now?" she asked, suddenly eager and excited. She leaned close to Takara, making Takara almost want to inch away from her.

"Uh, n-no…" Takara answered back, taken off-guard by her sudden burst of enthusiasm.

"Ah, shit!" the Sakura yelled. She sighed and smiled. "But, that's okay! He loves me above everyone, especially that damn Ino!"

Takara sighed. This girl was hopeless. "Hey, hey…" she began, suddenly struck by an idea. "When did Sakura begin to hide you away?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh? When Sasuke went on vacation," Saku-chan explained.

"Thank you!" Takara said, bowing quickly and dashing out of that side of the mind. She exhaled heavily before opening the second door, the one that led to Sakura's current personality.

When she opened the door, she was shocked to find such a drastic change. The personality was reading over material (in these cases, going over information or stories she had read before) from a desk across from the door.

"I'm sorry, can I help you?" the voice asked evenly. Her eyes were starkly black, but otherwise was a picture-perfect replica of the other personality.

"I… I just wanted to meet you, actually. I'd like to ask a few questions…" Takara began cautiously.

"Go ahead," the other Sakura said gently. "Have a seat," she offered, a seat suddenly appearing in front of the desk.

Takara took the seat reluctantly, watching the girl before beginning. "Were you originally in this vessel?" she asked.

"Yes, sort of… I was kind of just lurking underneath the surface, waiting for Sakura to mature a bit," she explained.

"So, you go by Sakura?" Takara asked for confirmation.

"No, I go by Ra-san. Together, Saku and I make up Sakura… We decided that the names, put together, should also make up Saku-ra, and since Saku is cuter-sounding, I let Saku have that name. So I'm Ra."

"I see. How long have you been active?" Takara asked.

"Ever since Naruto broke his promise to bring him back." she answered back, showing no emotion.

"Do you not care for him at all?" Takara asked, somewhat shocked.

"No, I don't. In fact, I hate him for his disloyalty. However, Saku adores him… But I… I can't bare the thought of him! In fact, right now, I can't stand the thought of going out with any of the boys I know."

"Hey… wait… So, what happened in between Sasuke leaving and Naruto being unable to bring him back?" Takara asked, suddenly realizing that there had to be a gap of a few days, at least, between the events.

"… Emptiness."

----

"You were right, Kabuto. It is a form of multiple personalities," Takara concluded with a deep sigh.

"And?" Kabuto asked, milking her for more information.

"You were also right about it going deeper than that. She has an exaggerated inner-child, and so… Well, her inner child somewhat died when Sasuke left the village. Her current personality, the mature one, came up after Naruto failed to bring Sasuke back into the village. And in that gap, I guess she was so depressed that she was but an empty shell…" Takara said, sighing again. "She doesn't seem like it on the outside, but really, she is mentally messed up."

"Is there any way to fix it?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes… We'd have to merge the personalities into something that can be considered a combination of the Saku and the Ra, forming a true Sakura," Takara explained with a smirk, wondering if Kabuto would catch on.

Kabuto nodded in reply. "That's going to be harder than you make it sound…"

**A/N: Bleh. Shorter chapter, compared to the others. Sorry.**


	5. Chapter 5

**All In The Name Of A One Sided Love**

Sakura hated meditating. Takara said that it was the only way to even begin to 'merge' her two personalities into one, and it immensely bothered Sakura that a complete stranger knew her better than she knew herself. She tried to concentrate on the silence, but 'Saku' and 'Ra' kept talking to each other, i.e. arguing.

Takara said that it was supposed to sound like that at first, and Sakura hated it. She was sitting there, for hours on end sometimes, listening to them bicker about old matters. Takara said that it would be easy to 'move them into the same room' a.k.a. 'merge' the two of them together if they could be silent, together, and if they could think the same things, together.

Sakura thought that it all was bullshit.

'_This is crazy. Why in the world would this work?'_ Saku asked with a pout.

'_No, no… it makes sense. If we can find a center and become more like each other, we can fully make up Sakura,'_ Ra disagreed, as they often did.

'_That's the crazy part! Do you really think that there's a chance you'll ever think like me?" _Saku asked indignantly.

'_No, I think the point is for you to start thinking like me.'_

This was only a small sample of the beginning of on such argument. It amazed Sakura how different her two halves were, and she had never even known. Takara said that, most likely, she stopped hearing the voice because she locked it away after Sasuke left, back when it was the major part of her and 'Ra' was dormant. She was empty while Naruto was gone, off to try and retrieve Sasuke, but when he came back without him, 'Ra' woke up and became the major personality.

Or something to the effect of that.

"Saku… Ra. Dinner," Kabuto said. He had started to tease her by separating the parts of her name, as if calling the two different pieces of her mentality.

"Haha," Sakura muttered before standing up and sighing. She stretched quickly and followed Kabuto out of the room that was used for her meditation, a room Sakura was surprised Kabuto let her have, simply for a few hours daily.

----

Ino was having troubles of her own. After finding out that Takara was a mind specialist, Ino was desperately trying to get her to teach her, for however long she'd be at the lair. However, Takara was having nothing to do with her, explaining that she was not into the whole 'teachering' thing.

Ino hated the fact that Takara wasn't even giving her a second glance, as if she already knew that she'd be terrible at it—which wasn't true, for she had pretty much mastered all of the mind jutsu of her family.

"Hey, Takara, I was wondering—" Ino would begin as Takara walked past her.

"No," Takara would reply simply, not breaking her gait, just continuing to walk down the corridor.

"Damn it…" Ino muttered as she passed by. She stepped in place behind her and formed the seal for her Shintenshin no Jutsu. She mumbled the jutsu's name, and the soul traveled in a slow straight line. Ino had noticed that Takara always walked perfectly straight, and so, she knew that the jutsu would hit.

Her soul was right next to Takara, but for some odd reason, it bounced away and went in a completely different line, hitting the wall and stopping, frozen for she had hit a solid object that didn't have a place for a soul.

"Nice try," Takara muttered as she turned sharply right into the library, no doubt to talk to Kabuto.

----

The argument Saku and Ra were having was very awkward during this turn's meditation.

'_Sasuke has that whole dark-guy look! And guys do not look good with glasses,'_ Saku pouted.

'_Ch. Kabuto seems at least somewhat stable, and he's much more clever than Sasuke. Also, look at that hair! Could you imagine being with a guy whose hair was silkier than your own? Besides, that _color_…' _Ra said, in a rare bout of teenaged girl talk.

'_Uh-huh. Yeah, right. Who wants the bookworm type? Back home, I used to torture guys like that…'_

'_You were wrong and you know it. I bet he has more loyalty than Sasuke, that's for damn sure…'_ Ra retorted with a smug tone, knowing she had Saku there.

'_And? Living with him in daily life would be _boring_. Read, read, read, read, read, eat, read, read…'_ Saku said, going on and on about how much he read. _'I mean, he'd pay more attention to books than me!'_

'_Yeah, but at least when you'd have a conversation, he'd have something halfway clever to talk about. With Sasuke, it'd be, "Well, I want to kill my brother and gain power from a pedophile, but other than that, I bought some windmill shuriken…" But with Kabuto, he'd have…'_

'_Conversation doesn't matter. All that matters is how good they look, and how good they make you look.'_

'_Are you kidding me? Sasuke would make you look way better than Kabuto does? Kabuto looks _hot_ and Sasuke… Well, although he is actually much hotter, he has the personality of a dead possum.'_

'_Uh-huh. Kabuto pales in comparison to Sasuke,' _Saku replied back stubbornly.

Sakura was indeed thankful, for she was tired of arguing with herself over who was hotter/better, when Takara knocked on the door and told her it was lunch time. Normally, you weren't told when meals were, because they were on a scheduled routine, so you shouldn't need to be told. However, because Sakura wasn't allowed to have a clock in her meditation room (too distracting), she needed to be told when lunch and dinner were, provided she was actually meditating at the time.

Sakura immediately jumped up in excitement—which was silly, because lunch was a boring affair—and she flung the door open. She was now contemplating what to make for lunch, and so now, her two sides were arguing.

'_Peanut butter and jelly!'_ Saku demanded.

'_We had that yesterday! It's unhealthy to eat the same things day after day! Look, make soup or something!'_ Ra threw back.

'_Ch, but then you'd have to cook!'_ Saku replied grumpily.

Sakura sighed and pulled out a can of New England clam chowder and put the contents into a pot before adding a can of milk to it, just as the directions said on the back. Lately, she had taken to following Ra's advice, for she was much more sensible and realistic than Saku, not to mention that had been the major part of her personality for the past two and a half years.

She put the soup on, ignoring Saku's rants about it taking too long and about how sweet things were better.

Ino watched as Sakura put on the soup, halfway reaching for bread for a sandwich, as she grabbed the can.

'_Why didn't I notice before? I mean… when I tried taking over her body in the preliminaries… Something pushed me out. I'm not sure which one it was, though… More than likely Saku, because she seems more like she has will power…'_ Ino thought to herself. _'But why didn't I notice her major personality change? She went from competing with me to being my friend again…'_

'_Wait. Maybe… Maybe _that_ incident was when Saku… or maybe Ra… developed…'_ Ino suddenly thought.

"_Ino, I'm returning this ribbon," a younger Sakura said to a younger Ino._

"_I gave you that ribbon… And forehead protectors go on your forehead," Ino pointed out, as Sakura tried to hand her back the ribbon that she had given her long ago, back in pre-Academy days._

"_From now I'm not a girl who follows you around. The time that I put it on my forehead is the time, as a female shinobi, that I don't lose to you!" Sakura said sternly._

"_Good idea. Then… me, too," Ino said as she took the ribbon from Sakura, holding back a small smirk while keeping up a stern façade. _

That time… was the time that Sakura began to try to take things seriously. However, she fluctuated from being her stern self to being just as she was when talking about Sasuke—love struck, loud, obnoxious, and self-centered. Ino stood from the table and glanced around, looking for Takara. When she noted that she wasn't present, she turned to Kabuto.

"Where's Takara?" Ino asked quickly.

----

Ino sat across from Takara on Takara's bed. It was soft, and large, and Ino was wondering how long Takara would sit there, posed like that, with her head resting on her folded hands. The way she was sitting reminded Ino of Sasuke, except Sasuke never actually put his chin upon his hands—always only adjacent to them.

Finally, Takara opened her mouth to speak. "So… she got tired of being in your shadow, and Saku and Ra diverged into two different personalities…" Takara confirmed.

"Yeah," Ino replied simply.

"And, so, her happy medium would look like what she was before she met you—the shy, uncertain little girl?" Takara asked.

"No… I don't think that that is what she'll be like at all. I'm not sure what she'll be like, actually. Maybe kind of more like Tsunade… Serious at most times, but with an underlying layer of irresponsibility," Ino explained, looking out of Takara's window as she said so, as if musing.

"Quite possible…" Takara said with a nod. "Okay, you're dismissed," Takara said with a wave of her hand. Ino glared at this haughty action, and Takara froze when she saw the look she gave her.

It reminded her of someone she once knew…

"What?" Ino demanded, her glower somewhat softening, but still there.

"Nothing. Just… leave," Takara finally decided upon, and in a huff, Ino left the room.

----

"Oi, Kabuto!" Takara called, sitting next to Kabuto in the library.

"Yes, Takara?" he asked, his gaze never leaving the book.

"Who is Ino's father?" Takara asked casually.

"Inoichi Yamanaka," Kabuto replied quickly, agitated that Takara was bothering him while he was trying to read.

"Thanks," Takara said simply before leaving.

'_Inoichi, huh…? Maybe she does have potential,'_ Takara thought solemnly as she left the library.

----

"You're… what?" Ino asked, dumbstruck.

"I'm going to train you," Takara replied simply.

"Why?" Ino asked, still shocked. It wasn't that she was being disrespectful, or ungrateful, or anything like that—it was just that, well, Takara had just gone from acting as if she didn't exist to _offering_ to tutor her.

And that was a big step. A leap, in fact.

"Because, I'm only staying until Orochimaru leaves, and I need someone here to be able to check up on Sakura's mental progress, in case she's not really well by the time Orochimaru gets back," Takara explained with a sigh.

"… Really?" Ino asked, the idea finally sinking in, the shock fading away.

"Why would I lie?" Takara asked with an annoyed sigh.

Ino threw her arms around Takara's neck in glee and grinned heavily, before backing up. She took a deep bow and said, "Please take care of me!"

Takara sighed. She might have been the daughter of an 'old friend', but she would be grinding upon her nerves heavily…

----

Takara training Ino meant that Sakura and Ino spent even less time together. Takara training Ino also left Sakura alone with Kabuto for a vast amount of time each day. Ino took to Takara's manner of eating in Takara's room, so that Ino could 'train' while eating—really, this involved Ino blocking out any sort of mental connection Takara attempted to make with Ino while her guard was supposed to be down. In order to keep Takara from finding out things Ino didn't want her to know, she'd have to constantly keep up a mental block.

The first time, without even realizing Takara had snuck into her mind, Takara groaned and asked, "You're marrying _that_?"

"Yes, I am," Ino glowered and rubbed her finger. She missed her ring, even though she had only worn it for a few days before being kidnapped. Kabuto had taken the ring away, saying it could be used as a weapon. _'Bastard.'_

----

Sakura leaned against the chair in the library, and stared at Kabuto as he read. He was leaning back in a soft chair, completely relaxed, reading a medical textbook.

"How can you read something like that in a soft chair without falling asleep?" Sakura asked, voicing Saku's question.

"I like reading it," Kabuto answered, surprising Sakura by actually _looking_ at her. He usually didn't do that, unless he really wanted conversation, or he had to talk about something very important, as Sakura had come to know.

"Really? I'd have fallen asleep by now, especially since that stuff should be review…" Sakura pointed out.

"Maybe I like reviewing…" Kabuto said with a smirk.

"No, you're looking for something, aren't you?" Sakura suddenly asked. Ra had made the observation that Kabuto had been glancing around, and not fully reading it. Besides, why would a medical nin expert be reviewing basics?

"What makes you say that?" Kabuto asked, his smirk turning to a frown.

"The way your eyes glided across the page, I guess…" Sakura replied, folding her hands behind her head and leaning back, a habit she had picked up from Naruto.

"You watch my eyes?" Kabuto asked with a smirk.

"No!" Sakura cried out, turning her head away from Kabuto, for a deep blush had formed on her face.


	6. Chapter 6

**All In The Name Of A One Sided Love**

Sakura was getting worse. Even after the meditation, she had gotten much worse. Before, they were just arguing. Now, Saku had actually taken over Sakura's body to try and win a bet.

Well, the bet was childish, and even as Sakura heard it, she couldn't believe that her two halves were going to do such a thing… Basically, the bet was that there was no way Saku wouldn't fall in love with Kabuto after talking to him. Ra continued saying that, after talking to him personally, she'd begin drooling over Kabuto.

Saku inched closer and closer to Kabuto, before lunging forward and throwing her arms around his neck from behind. Had it not been for the fact that Takara was right there, and that he had seen Saku walking into the room, he would have completely panicked and tried throwing her off.

But that didn't stop him from getting angry.

"What are you doing?" he demanded loudly, his voice almost a squeak, as his book falling to the floor with a dull _thud_.

"Nothin'," Saku said, sticking her tongue out with a smirk.

"Saku?" Takara asked in confirmation, having known Sakura well enough at this point to know that she wouldn't randomly hug Kabuto.

"Hai?" Saku asked, her voice fluctuating 'cutely'. Really, it was annoying Takara to no end.

"Can I talk to Ra, please?" Takara asked, plastering on a big, fake smile.

"Nope!" Saku said with a laugh. "She can't take over Sakura, silly!" She said this in a tone that suggested it was obvious that she couldn't, even though it really wasn't.

"Why?" Takara asked evenly, hiding her mounting anger towards the annoying side of Sakura.

"Because, I have all the determination… dreams… goals… truly romantic thoughts… raw power…" Saku trailed off. "And Ra has all the sense… the calm… the level headedness… the smarts… the precision… the obedience… the genius…" And she stopped and shrugged.

"I see," Takara said, obviously mulling things over. "Like Yin and Yang, ne?" Takara asked with a small smile.

"I guess so," Saku replied, not at all interested in what she had. "But, I'm here to talk to 'Buto! Wait, do you have a problem with the nickname 'Buto?' Ra asked me to ask…" Saku explained. "We kind of call you that in Sakura's mind," she finished, before sticking out her tongue once again at Kabuto, who really only wanted to read his book and ignore… well, everyone.

"Yes. I have a major problem with it," Kabuto half growled.

"Oh, are you pushing me away?" Saku whined, her bottom lip sticking out in a pout.

"Well, if you want to think of it that way," Kabuto said with a shrug. "Yes. Yes I am," he said with a nod.

"You're mean. Hmm… Ra's right! Okay, Sakura can come back now!" Saku exclaimed suddenly, and Sakura's body swerved, her eyes fluttering close. Kabuto jumped up and caught her now limp body and sighed.

"So, Buto, what are you going to do?" Takara asked evenly as she watched him.

"Read," Kabuto responded, but instead of turning back to the book (now forgotten on the floor), he went to the medical part of the library and searched for a certain scroll on Yin and Yang…

----

'_So, we've come to an agreement, finally?' Ra asked Saku with a deep-set smirk on her face._

'_Yeah, yeah…' Saku said, slightly pouting. 'Perhaps Kabuto is more interesting than Sasuke… He does give more of a reaction…' Saku said, her pout turning into a different sort of smirk that Ra's._

'_You shouldn't be thinking things like that. And, besides, when describing us, you didn't mention that you were fickle… nor did you mention that you're somewhat perverted,' Ra muttered the last bit, but it impacted Saku just the way she wanted it to, anyways._

'_Oh, yeah? At least I didn't add the part where it says you act like an old maid!' Saku threw back angrily._

"_Ch. Anyways, we need to start reaching more and more agreements," Ra decided. "So… what should we start with?"_

"_Boys work! Who's hotter, Kakashi-sensei or Kiba Inuzuka?" Saku asked excitedly._

_Ra sighed, but replied, "Kakashi-sensei, most definitely," with a small nod._

"_Ha! Yes!" Saku cried excitedly._

"_What do you suppose Shino Aburame looks like with his glasses off…?" Ra asked, as if she was musing._

"_I bet he has brown eyes…" Saku mused._

"_Yeah, definitely… I mean, have you ever seen a brunette with any other natural eye color?" Ra agreed._

"_Hmm… no, definitely not. It would seem almost out-of-place… Well, maybe black…"_

"_Yeah, but he doesn't seem like the type to have such dark eyes… Okay, okay. Do you think Sasuke'll end up looking like Orochimaru?" Saku asked, changing the subject on a whim._

"_Oh, I hope not! Orochimaru definitely looks like as if he molests children," Ra exclaimed in response._

----

"So, basically, this is Saku, and this is Ra," Kabuto begin, holding up two halves of a Yin and Yang symbol, the parts being separated to show the different halves. "And this is Sakura," Kabuto continued, pushing the two pieces together.

Takara stared at it for a second before laughing. "Thanks for the kindergarten lesson, Yakushi-sensei!" she cried out in between her outrageously loud laughter.

"No, listen. She can't just ignore Saku, even though Ra is more… like a ninja. She needs both parts to be able to form Sakura correctly, and she needs all of the qualities from each," Kabuto explained with a sigh, putting the pieces away. Takara didn't understand a good model when she saw one.

"Ahh, I see," Takara replied, drawing out the 'ahh' and the 'see' more than she needed to.

"Haha," Kabuto retorted sarcastically, his tone dry and humorless. He almost continued, but at that moment, a dazed Sakura walked into the library and took the seat beside Kabuto. Kabuto shied away automatically, wondering if she was Saku or Sakura.

"My two sides are starting to agree," Sakura finally said after a length of silence.

"On what?" Takara leaned forward in curiosity.

"Boys, mainly. Sometimes it's what they look like under ninja clothes, sometimes it is what they'll be like when they grow up… I'm sort of shocked that Ra is taking part in something like that, but I guess Ra is female, too," Sakura explained. The manner in which she spoke those words gave away that she was irritated with their gossiping, and the way she held her head showed she had a headache, if not a migraine.

"Not feeling well?" Takara asked gently, leaning backwards slightly.

"No. I'm not feeling well at all. I feel like I'm dazed, and my head is _pounding_…" she groaned.

"Kabuto, fetch medicine," Takara commanded. Kabuto grumbled about how he was treated like a dog, but nevertheless, he got up from the table and left the room.

"How come he complains but does it anyways, even though he's technically the one who's in charge of us all?" Sakura asked, only half interested in the answer (in other words, Ra was observant).

"Because, I guess he's used to doing what he's told… If it were Orochimaru, Kabuto wouldn't even get to complain. He considers that much a blessing," Takara mused as she leaned all the way back in her chair, staring at Sakura, waiting to gauge her reaction.

"I… see," Sakura said weakly, slumping further into the chair.

"So, have your two sides decided if Kabuto is hotter than Sasuke or not?" Takara asked with a small smirk.

"Saku likes Kabuto more, because his reactions are better, or some such nonsense," Sakura said with a weak chuckle.

"Glad to know it," Kabuto said, donning an evil smirk, as he set down the bottle of aspirin before handing her a glass of water.

"That doesn't mean you're hotter," Sakura pointed out as she popped two of the white pills into her mouth, followed by half the glass of water.

"So? As long as I'm better than the Uchiha brat, that's fine with me," Kabuto retorted with a small shrug.

----

And so, their lives turned back to the routine. Sakura still meditated, and now didn't get headaches from their constant arguing, but from their constant agreement. They settled on chocolate as the favorite food; they decided that romance novels with developing pairings (rather than, as Saku said, getting right to the hot stuff) were better; and they had, ever since their first agreements, simultaneously deciding who was cuter, hotter, better, sexier, etc. than others.

And Takara had decided that it was time. It was time to 'even out Sakura', as she said, and combine her two sides. Sakura wasn't quite sure whether or not Takara would stay after completing the task she had come to do, nor what would happen to Ino if she did leave. After all, Ino only really worked out a little in the gym before Takara had come. But now, in the past few weeks, Takara had been working on Ino immensely, despite it seeming as if Takara was constantly talking to Kabuto.

Ino had managed to break Takara's mind barriers on more than one occasion, and even once when she had the guard all the way up. Ino had been taught how to forge a mental block, and, after she completely mastered breaking mind barriers and creating them, Takara had promised she'd move onto more interesting things, such as actually going inside someone's mind, the step after breaking their mental barricade.

So, they led Sakura back to the room in which she had been evaluated in the first place. Sakura was somewhat surprised that it had taken so little time to get ready to combine the two sides, for they were still immensely different. In fact, just because their opinions agreed, didn't mean that their qualities did. However, when she asked Takara about this, Takara simply replied that it was good for them to have different qualities, because all of them (including both of their bad qualities, sadly enough) combined to make her up, and it was important to have them all.

She sat in the middle of the room, in the middle of the symbols, just as she had before. She was feeling an immense sense of déjà vu, for she knew that, just a few short weeks ago, she had sat down on the same cold, damp stone floor in the middle of the same old, cracked symbols. Takara turned to Ino and told her to pay close attention, but said she was still to inexperienced to take a journey into someone else's mind, best friend or not. Ino pouted at this, but offered a reassuring smile to Sakura as Takara took her place above her.

----

Takara waded around in Sakura's mind, now in the same corridor she had been in weeks ago. She went down the hallways, and noted how the coloring of the hallways seemed to spill into each other, as if they were slowly merging together, whether Takara (or Sakura, for that matter) wanted it to or not. She came to the double doors at the end of the corridor and pushed them open, shocked to see the two of them in Saku's room, chatting.

Saku sat on the end of the bed, her feet laid out in front of her, chatting like a schoolgirl. Ra sat across from her, her legs crossed, leaning forward in interest, but was obviously more reserved that Saku was. Takara couldn't see Saku's eyes, but she could see Ra's, and they now had little pink flecks amid the black.

"Sorry to interrupt…" Takara began, leaning against the doorframe as if she lived in Sakura's mind as well.

"Hello, Takara-san," Ra said brightly. She was no longer quite as cold as she had been before, but then again, Saku was not as warm as she had been before, either.

"Why are you here?" Saku asked excitedly with a bright smile.

"Well, how do you two like the thought of moving in the same room…?" Takara asked reluctantly, not sure how to phrase it to the pair of them.

"Hmm… well, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea, does it, Saku?" Ra asked evenly. Saku nodded excitedly, happy that she'd be getting a roommate.

"Do you have anything to break the wall between your two's rooms?" Takara asked with a sigh, annoyed that she hadn't thought of anything.

"Well, that seems unnecessary…" Ra pointed out, and Saku pointed at the wall with her thumb. The wall was only a sliding paper door, and Takara stood there, transfixed.

"This is the barrier between you two?" she asked incredulously, wondering why it was something so easy to open.

They both nodded in confirmation, and Takara walked up to it. She pulled back on the handle, but it didn't move a fraction of a centimeter.

"I think only we can move it," Ra thought, and Takara stepped back.

"Be my guests," she said, motioning at the door. The two of them exchanged looks, as if talking it over telepathically. They stood up at the same time, and both walked to the barrier at the same time. They each grasped part of the handle and pulled back, the door sliding open effortlessly.


	7. Chapter 7

**All In The Name Of A One Sided Love**

Ino watched Sakura, trying to figure out how Sakura was supposed to act. Seeing her like this… was strange. She seemed to be part little kid, but then would turn around and act very responsible. Really, it was as if she was basically bi-polar, in Ino's eyes, except she knew how to act and when. For instance, while she was training, she drew on the determination from 'Saku' and the focus from 'Ra'. When she was studying or reading, she just completely used Ra's focus, and when she was trying to get her way, Saku's determination was all of what she used.

Ino felt somewhat confused after thinking about it, and seemingly trying to reunderstand her friend. It was strange, 'getting to know' Sakura after having known her for years upon years.

Sakura, herself, was also getting used to adjusting. It wasn't a bad adjustment, but she had picked up the habit of talking to herself mentally, due to the fact that she was in withdrawal from not having voices in her head.

Ino would joke and say that, because she missed the voices, she was definitely insane. Sakura promptly hit her shoulder—hard—and pretended to be mad.

Also, Kabuto and Takara were interested in the way Sakura was acting. Kabuto thought that, after the combination of her two personalities, she'd never randomly flirt with him. But, to his chagrin, she had begun to do it more and more. Ino comforted him by telling him that, had there been more men around, she'd be flirting with them constantly as well, just for the sake of flirting. Sakura was like that.

Kabuto even tested it out by hiring a young man to 'clean the floors'. Surely enough, Sakura flirted with him. Quite a bit. And when Kabuto got angry because of it, Takara and Ino simply gave him a look, one he couldn't read, and probably didn't want to, before snickering and returning to their work.

Another side effect of no more meditation was that Sakura had more free time than usual. Ino and Takara were constantly busy, and somehow, Ino had convinced Takara to stay longer than actually necessary. So, Kabuto and Sakura were left completely alone, both having very little to do but train.

And this led to Kabuto basically becoming her teacher as well.

He decided he'd work on her medicine/poison making skills. She was lacking in that department, but her skills in using chakra were amazing. He knew he didn't have to work on that. In fact, she was probably better at chakra precision than he, himself was. Not that he'd ever tell her that.

He stood behind her, watching with a vigilant gaze as she put together the medicine. He watched as she did exactly as the book told her to do, and didn't make a single mistake. After she made the cream, bottled it, and held it up for his observation, he took the jar gently from her hands.

He put a finger in the jar, and rubbed it in between his thumb and forefinger to make sure it had the right consistency. He smelled it, stirred it, and observed it from every angle.

"Perfect," he commented, not really complimenting her, but rather simply stating it. He put a top on the jar and set it to the side. He took the book, closed it shut, and said, "Now, do it without the book," he informed her slyly.

"I can't," Sakura replied, her voice matter-of-fact.

"Oh? Why not?" he asked, surprised she wasn't even trying.

"I don't have the hydrangea root needed for the second step."

Kabuto's smirk fell. Was she able to do it, even without the book, already? That would defeat the purpose of his lecture… He sighed and went to the shelf, reached up, and pulled a large jar containing the roots she needed and sat them in front of her.

He watched in amazement, still staring at her actions to see if she would make a single mistake. Somehow, she managed to make the potion once again, using the same exact motions she used before. This time, when she handed him the potion, he made less of a show in observing it.

"Perfect. Again," he replied, still somewhat shocked.

"Surprised?" Sakura asked, a small smirk playing on her lips. Yes, she had fun toying with Kabuto.

"Yeah," he replied. "How did you do that?"

"Well… I guess my hands are just good at re-doing what they've done before…" Sakura replied with a sigh. "That's part of the reason why, well, my chakra precision is so good… My hands have excellent memory, as Tsunade says," Sakura explained. Kabuto could hear no self-satisfaction, no haughtiness at all in her tone. She was simply explaining her talent, which was extremely useful.

"Heh… You're going to be good at this. I thought we'd do a few medicines a week before moving onto poisons, but you're going to move much faster than that… Well, anyways, let's continue. This potion is a basic cream for scratches and disinfecting. It is commonly made, and very easy to find the recipe for. Many other creams and medicines are used for disinfection, but this one is most basic. You make the creams based on what resources you have, and, provided you have adequate resources, how bad, deep, or how infected the wound is," Kabuto explained.

Sakura nodded, taking in all of the information. She'd need it, later on. She still wasn't sure if she really wanted to be there, but for as long as she was, she'd try and get _something_ out of it.

----

In reality, a few weeks was six months, and this was before Kabuto subtracted time from his estimate due to Sakura's amazing memorization ability. He did not want to rush her into poisons, due to the fact that he still couldn't be entirely certain that she didn't want to poison him.

In the end, in that first day, she was able to make two different potions—the original, and another more stronger version of the original. Kabuto told her to practice those two, over and over, and to memorize the properties. The next day, he'd test her completely on the two potions, about all of their properties, ingredients, recipes, and even odd things like their scent and their thickness. She'd have to be able to tell them apart, and be able to tell when and when not to use them.

Basically, she'd have to be an expert on both of the potions to move onto something new.

Sakura spent the rest of the night studying the two medicines, learning and memorizing everything about each potion. She really had nothing better to do, and Kabuto was gone. He had left for some obscure reason, one which he wouldn't tell her. Ino and Takara, as was their norm, were working into the night. As Ino briefly explained to Sakura, Takara was attempting to quickly have Ino master the information, for Takara had already stayed longer than she had planned.

----

"Which has a minty smell?" Kabuto asked.

"The stronger one," Sakura replied tonelessly, obviously bored.

"Okay… Which requires ground tree bark?"

"The weaker one."

"Which is greener?"

"The weaker one."

"Which is can be used to absorb pus?"

"The stronger one."

"Which one is runnier?"

"The weaker one."

"Which is made to have lumps in it?"

"The… hey, neither of them are supposed to have lumps…" Sakura replied, almost slipping up by saying the stronger one.

"Okay. You pass. You can now work on this next medicine, which is used for lacerations," Kabuto said, flipping to a page in the book, and showing her a light pink potion.

Sakura nodded in response and began gathering the ingredients needed. Kabuto had given her full (almost) access to the resources on his shelves, so he didn't always have to get them, and so that she'd acquire an eye for them.

"Hey, 'Buto?" she asked, using his nickname. Oh god—this meant that she was going to be casual. Which meant flirting. Which meant Kabuto doing his best not to panic.

"Yeah?" he asked, pretending to be uninterested. Really, he was almost addicted to her conversations. She always said interesting things, or asked intriguing questions. Usually, when she began conversations that way, she seemed as if she'd pull something straight out of thin air, and talk about it, just for the sake of talking.

"Did you know there's a word called 'fustigate'? It means to beat someone with a cudgel or a club," Sakura explained. Kabuto chuckled at the obscure, widely unknown word. No, he hadn't ever heard of it.

"Really? Can I test that?" he asked, making his way to the dictionary. It wasn't that he didn't believe that such a word existed—no, really, he was just checking for procedure.

He flipped through the dictionary to the 'g' section, and then flipped backwards to find the 'fu's. Surely enough, fustigate was in the dictionary.

"Huh. That'd be an interesting word to use in a fight as a threat—'Shut up, or I'll fustigate you!' The person would freeze, and then you could move in for the kill…" Kabuto mused. Sakura felt a shudder go through her body, the same way it did any time he casually mentioned murder like that. Even with her friends, who had committed many more assassinations than herself, they never could mention it as casually as Kabuto did. And that freaked her out. But, she was growing used to it, albeit reluctantly.

So, she changed the subject, "So, 'Buto, when are you going to take me out on a real date? I like this whole apothecary setting as much as the next girl, but I want a real date. As in makeup, heels, nice clothes over a candlelight dinner…" Sakura mused with a smirk, knowing that Kabuto had done a double take.

"Ch. I wouldn't want to have you cheat on your boyfriend in Konoha," Kabuto joked. Like Sakura with his casual references to death and murder, he was slowly getting used to her random flirting.

"Oh, there's no boyfriend," Sakura said, her tone somewhat… odd to Kabuto.

"Girlfriend, then?" Kabuto asked with a smirk. And automatically ducked. Sakura had thrown a clove at him, just as he expected. He was just glad she wasn't reaching for the knife… She'd have actually thrown it!

"Yeah, right. I'm as straight as you are gay," Sakura commented off-handedly.

"Oh, so you have a harem of girls?" Kabuto asked with a chuckle. And ducked. Sakura, however, had gotten adjusted to the timing of his ducking. She had waited exactly three and a half seconds before throwing the closest thing to her hand—which, ironically, just _happened_ to be the knife. And hit him squarely in the shoulder.

Sakura gasped and froze. Kabuto was breathing funny, which was the minimum of reactions to having a _knife_ in your shoulder. "Well?" he asked, motioning towards the knife. Sakura hurried to him and pull the knife out gently, pulling it out in such a way that it wouldn't hurt as much. She folded her hands over the wound and closed her eyes in concentration. Green chakra glowed around her hands, and Kabuto felt the slight pricking sensation of the chakra needle going in and out of the wound, closing it.

When Sakura pulled away, Kabuto admired the work through the hole in his shirt. "Huh… there will only be a scar, now… I'm never going to infuriate you when you've got pointy objects around. Your punishment is that you don't have any more knife privileges for the week—I have to do it all," Kabuto told her with a smirk on his face.

----

Sakura was annoyed. While brewing medicine, Kabuto had to cut everything for her. When she ate meat, Kabuto had to cut it for her. She wasn't allowed to do target practice, an area she needed a lot of work on. She wasn't allowed to handle anything pointy.

And Kabuto was amused. He wondered how long, during the course of the week, it would be before Sakura threatened to fustigate—yes, he had picked up use of that word—him into a bloody pulp until he allowed the use of knives, even if it was only supervised.

Sakura didn't complain. This surprised him immensely.

When the week was up, she looked at Kabuto expectantly. "Well?" she asked him, when he made no move to say anything.

"Well what? Oh, yes. I'm planning on extending your…" he began. Only to test her reaction—really. He only wanted to threaten to elongate the punishment to mess with her.

"I put up with it for a week. That was fair. If you're being serious, I hope you know that I will fustigate you, and continue the fustigation until you allow me to use knives. In the end, if you end up as a bloody, pulpy mass, I'll feel no guilt whatsoever on my conscience because I'll know you _deserved_ it," Sakura growled. She had a _very_ scary look on her face, and Kabuto would not have been embarresed at all to admit he was scared.

He let her have the knife.

**A/N: It's going to get sort of off the point for a little while, up until the real start of the plot comes up. The next chapter will be basically relationship building, kind of like this one was, and the one after that will probably be the beginning of the _real_ plot. Sorry if you don't like it going off-topic.**

**Review, please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**All In The Name Of A One Sided Love**

Sakura found it hard to believe that, lately, if there was anyone she remembered, it was Kabuto. She and Ino were still spending the usual amount of time together, as were she and Takara. However, when she thought back on it, all she could remember, _really_ remember was being around Kabuto.

And, the thing was, she thought about him a lot.

She didn't like where those pieces of information led her, because, really, she didn't want to imagine herself as being so fickle. She had, after all, come here in search of _Sasuke_, not Kabuto. In fact, she had hated Kabuto. If she had already fallen in love with Kabuto, and out of love with Sasuke, what did that make her? It meant that she still had the mind of the younger fifteen-year-old who would swoon at the sight of _any_ hot guy, especially Sasuke.

But, the really weird thing is, is that while she did think Kabuto was decent-looking, he still was no comparison to the looks of Sasuke. But that didn't matter. It was his personality and the conversations she was finding herself thinking more and more of. It was as if she had gotten, somehow, deeper.

This made her think of many months ago, when she had asked Ino _how_ she could have possibly fallen in love with Chouji. He was extremely obese, and really, he never stopped eating. But, somehow, Sakura supposed that Ino had beaten her—she had shed her shallowness much quicker than Sakura, herself, had. But that didn't matter, because as long as she didn't mention it to Ino, she could never tease Sakura with how she had _beaten_ her—although it had, after all, been something not strength or Sasuke-related, so perhaps it didn't count.

Not that it mattered, now that their rivalry had been terminated.

Sakura continued to chop the stem of the flower, still working on the medicine for toothaches. What kind of a ninja would need medication for _tooth_aches? Sakura didn't know, but she supposed Kabuto would make her learn all of them. Better safe than with a sore mouth…

As she continued chopping, she glanced up at Kabuto. He had finally stopped watching over her like a hawk, and was completely relaxed, even when she had a knife at this point. He just made a point to not piss her off when she was near sharp, aerodynamic, or blunt objects. Not brilliant. He also made it a point to keep her away from target practice. Why help someone else hurt himself?

Sakura's mind drifted a little as she stared at Kabuto, who's head was tilted down at a book as he reclined in a chair that he had moved into the room simply for his comfort. His head was propped against a fist, leaning to the right of the chair.

She sliced off a part of her fingertip. She cried out in pain before sticking the hurt finger into her mouth, in order to clean the blood quickly. Even, a little of the blood had split onto the cutting board and knife, and stained some of the stem pieces. Kabuto immediately jumped up and pulled her finger out of her mouth, examining it.

He sighed and shook his head before running his fingers around the wound, closing it up with medical chakra.

"I… could've done it myself…" Sakura said, looking down at the ground to hide her light blush. Wait a minute—she didn't blush! She never blushed around Sasuke! But, then again, Sasuke had never been so… well, caring was the world, she supposed, but still. He had never done that for her.

"Yeah, well, then do it next time instead of sticking the finger in your mouth," Kabuto mumbled. "Acting helpless…" he growled under his breath.

"Thanks…" Sakura half-whispered unconsciously as she picked up the knife, ready to start chopping.

"You are welcome. And, if you're not careful, I'm going to take away 'pointy object' privileges, not just knives," Kabuto threatened with a smirk.

"Do I need to chunk the cutting board at you?" Sakura retorted testily.

Kabuto didn't reply, but returned to the book.

----

"I heard Sakura cry out in the 'medicine-making' room," Takara informed Kabuto with a smirk, using air quotes at the term medicine making. "Are you violating Sasuke's future wife… child-bearer… nanny… person?" Her lack of eloquence didn't keep Kabuto from freezing. He didn't violate her; in fact, her crying out in pain was _Sakura's_ fault. And before he could open his mouth to reply with this, Takara began laughing. "You didn't say anything, so that means you are!" she accused.

"You act like a little kid sometimes, Takara, and _no_, I was not doing anything with Sakura," he almost added that Sakura was not Sasuke's, but, quite technically, she was. In fact, the one allotted to him was _Ino_. He frowned at this thought.

"So, what are you going to do when Sasuke gets to penetrate Sakura?"

"Your bluntness is overwhelming, Takara," Kabuto growled, walking away, making no answer to the last question, because, really, there was no answer. He'd have to sit back and take it.

"Uh-huh. You going to try and convince Sasuke that Ino is actually better?" Takara said casually.

"… You don't mean that. What do you really want me to do?" Kabuto asked, raising an eyebrow. He had been in situations like this—well, not _quite_ like this, but similar. Kabuto would get smacked—_hard_—if he answered wrong.

"Isn't it obvious? Run away with them. Your motive allows you to leave at any time. You no longer need to depend on Orochimaru to attain what you want," Takara explained.

"You just want me to be on the run like you. Where would I go?"

"Konoha. With Sakura and Ino. And I could come with you," Takara added the last part on as an afterthought, but Kabuto knew that that was what she had wanted the entire time.

"Oh? And have one of the most powerful ninja in the world have a personal vendetta against me?" Kabuto retorted, annoyed because she hadn't thought that part through. But, then again, Takara wasn't one to get into such conversations without having thought about it for a long, _long_ time beforehand, thinking of any and all contingencies.

"Yeah, but you're forgetting one thing—you'd be on the side that has the other two most powerful ninja affiliated with it," Takara pointed out.

Kabuto sighed. Takara's suggestions were beginning to sound good, but, still…

"And, besides, this is the first time I've seen you like a girl. I was beginning to think you were either homosexual or asexual…" Takara admitted with a chuckle.

"Shut up," Kabuto growled, his pace quickening. He had heard enough of Takara's side. And he needed to think. Besides, it would only be a little while longer before Orochimaru and Sasuke returned from their mission, not to mention, he knew that the Konoha nin would be looking for Ino and Sakura…

----

Kabuto lay to one side of the bed, facing the door as a habit. He was not a person who tossed and turned when he couldn't sleep—he only did that when he had nightmares, and those 'nightmares' where usually memories of his past experiences, not just simple fabrications of a worried mind. They were things that had actually happened.

But, no, when he couldn't sleep, it was usually because he was either restless or because he was deep in thought. Tonight it was because of the latter. He was thinking about what Takara had said. Really, that option had the most to gain for him. But he had been loyal to Orochimaru for… a long time. A very long time. In fact, he had been loyal to Orochimaru for probably over half his life. That was a long time, in Kabuto's eyes.

He had always known what Orochimaru was doing was evil. Hell, most of what was considered part of a real ninja's life was defined as evil. Assassination, mutilation, kidnapping, torture, infiltrating someone's memories… all parts of the regular day, and all for a paycheck, all because someone had told them to do it, usually for simple political reasons. On more than one occasion, his missions included all of those.

But he hadn't cared, simply because that was the life of the ninja, and the sooner you learned to deal with it, the more adjusted you could be. A real ninja was bothered by the images of the people they had hurt, but Kabuto wasn't, for the simple fact that he knew that he would, eventually, pay the price, and that that vast majority of the people he had committed such atrocities towards had done just the same to others. So, what was the point in making yourself feel bad over something as simple as that?

Because Kabuto actually believed that, and was dead-set in believing it, was the reason Orochimaru liked him so much. Because he was like him—he didn't mind death. But, then again, Orochimaru didn't just tolerate it—he relished it, as if killing or torture was a drug that he couldn't get enough of. That, at first, sickened Kabuto, but he had gotten used to the aspect of Orochimaru. Whatever it took for you to live, hey, go for it. Perhaps Orochimaru couldn't stand for less than living for what he loved—and so, he loved death, and lived for death.

'_It's not such a bad deal… Hell, it's the best option I have. It's the best option for them, too, of course, because that means they get to go back home. But what if, just if, I'm not accepted into the society of Konoha? I suppose I could always waltz into the village, a kunai at Sakura's neck while Takara has a kunai at Ino's neck, and as soon as they take me to Tsunade, I'd release them… That way we'd have a chance._

_Wait. Am I considering this? The idea itself is crazy. I've always been loyal to Orochimaru, despite him being a pedophile… a freak… and a sadist… But he was the only one who accepted me initially, after my 'monster' episode, though that was on a small scale. And, of course, I'd have ANBU tailing me everywhere I went, to make sure I wasn't still corresponding with Orochimaru…_

_But, on a personal note, I'd be with Sakura in a less… Well, intimidating environment. And, perhaps, it could lead to something more than just the relationship we have now… And, of course, Ino would be with her fiancé… But could I answer to Tsunade? I am, after all, the right hand man to her greatest enemy. Would she trust me, if perhaps Sakura and/or Ino explained the situation?'_

Kabuto's thoughts soon led him to drift to sleep. For the first time in a long time, he had nightmares…

_He was running through the streets, running to meet Sasori. He was being driven by something he couldn't fight, and when he did fight it, it really hurt. He ran through the village, ignoring completely the requests of the man who had taken him in to be home in time for dinner. Sasori would initiate the painful part of the jutsu if he didn't arrive on time…_

_He got there just in time. Sasori instructed him to go and spy on Orochimaru, who was working on still unknown business in his laboratory. Before he left, Sasori injected him with a serum. According to Sasori, it improved his chakra, mental abilities, strength, and his stamina. It hurt to have it injected, but Sasori was the boss. Why, Kabuto didn't know, but it was as if he was forced, or somehow attracted to the man…_

_He left, running once again, for the laboratory. He snuck around the back and peered inside. Almost as soon as he did, he was caught by Orochimaru. He had done it so many times it wasn't funny, so why did he capture him now?_

_Suddenly, something in his mind snapped. He could feel his free will returning. And then, he remembered red…_

Kabuto bolted into an upright position, nearly falling to the floor. He gasped out, and wiped away the thin layer of salty sweat that had formed on his face. He stood, putting his glasses on, and walked to the bathroom. He washed his face and drank the water from the sink, not caring that it was unfiltered.

In reality, that had all happened, though the events were more drawn out. He had spied on Orochimaru due to Sasori's mind control, and because of the serum that Sasori injected into Kabuto, his body was exerted to an abnormal level. The jutsu placed on his mind to keep him in control was a way to help suppress that, and when Orochimaru broke it, Kabuto snapped. He remembered waking up and seeing a bloody Orochimaru offer to become his new boss. He had agreed, and that had left him to where he was now.

He stared at himself in the mirror. He thought of his original home—well, okay, he didn't know where he really originated. All he knew what that he was found in Kikyo Pass as a young child, taken in by a medical ninja, recruited by Sasori who injected him, and then re-recruited by Orochimaru. That was his childhood in a nutshell.

He chuckled as a strange thought struck him—he had never really been a loyal person. So, why should he stick with Orochimaru, other than the fact that he was the one who had saved him? But, then again, had it not been for the fact that he snapped, Orochimaru probably would have killed him, rather than recruit him.

Kabuto sighed and started staring at the sink. Takara's proposition wasn't looking so bad now… And then he decided that he would do just want she had suggested. They would leave within the week, and go to Konoha. Soon. Because it really wasn't long before Orochimaru was expected back…

He would give them the good news the next day, Kabuto decided.

**A/N: I developed Kabuto quite a bit, and the feelings between Sakura and Kabuto. The climax is coming soon—and that means that, at the most there will be about five more chapters, plus an epilogue. Depends on how long I can play it out. The next chapter will be a bit Konoha-centric. ;D Review, please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**All In The Name Of A One-Sided Love**

**A/N: Gah, because of the content of this chapter, I had to change the rating to M. If you are too young to read about slightly sexual (I don't go into detail, for those of you who are wanting a lemon, don't expect it in this chapter) material, I suggest you skip it, or something along those lines. There is also some rape in it. Oh, and just because I _had_ to change the rating, doesn't mean there is going to be a lemon later on. Sorry—I am not a good lemon-writer. You all really should thank me for that.**

"Quickly!" Takara called to Sakura and Ino. It was just barely dawn, and the group of shinobi were about to leave for Konohagakure.

Ino and Sakura quickly checked to make sure each other's backpacks were strapped tightly, and they glanced at Kabuto. The two of them had changed dramatically in the months they had stayed in the lair—they were gaunter than they had been when they first came, and also, they were also many shades paler. After ignoring physical changed, Ino had mastered many mind techniques, and Sakura had learned to make many benevolent medicines. Ino had started thinking more seriously about her life as a shinobi, and Sakura had… well, Sakura no longer had two personalities, and was a mentally stable person. Somewhat.

"Coming!" Ino called back, a smile adorning her face. They were finally _leaving_ the dreaded place, and she was _finally_ getting to go back to Konoha, back to her fiancée, back to her _life_. Sakura wished she could share Ino's enthusiasm for returning back to Konoha, but really, all that she wanted to 'come back to' was already here with her—Kabuto, Ino, and work. Of course, she would never admit it to either Kabuto or Ino.

"Yeah, yeah!" Sakura called back, noticing the edge to Takara's voice. Why was she so edgy all of a sudden? This was supposed to be a happy moment! Of course, well, it wasn't as happy for Sakura as it should have been for everyone else, but still!

"Sakura, Ino… We have some news," Kabuto began nervously, glancing back to Takara for support. Takara sighed, and seemed to mutter some sort of insult towards Kabuto under her breath, before continuing for him.

"_We are leaving for Konoha **tomorrow**. Get packed. Kabuto and I will **try** to live in Konoha as well, but really, it won't be a surprise if we didn't get to stay, especially Kabuto. If that happens, we'll have to hide away, but… You girls are going home,"_ _Takara finished with a smirk._

_At first, Sakura and Ino hadn't known what to say. After all, it could be a trick. It could be a lie. Hell, it could be a dream! But after Sakura and Ino thought it over for a moment, overcame the initial shock, Ino jumped up and cheered before hugging both Kabuto and Takara at once. Sakura smiled slightly at her friend's reaction, but otherwise, was oddly unaffected. In fact, the thing that she was thinking about had nothing to do with herself—she was wondering if Kabuto would **ever** be able to stay at Konoha, even if Sakura **herself** begged Tsunade for it._

"Let's go, go, go!" Takara called out. Kabuto was just reaching for the keypad when the door swung wide open.

"Oh, Kabuto. And I see Takara is here as well. And, hmm, Sakura and Ino have bags…? My, my… It almost seems as if you are attempting to escape… Sasuke, please," Orochimaru observed, shaking his head slowly. Sasuke moved forward, and, having taken them all by surprise, coupled with the fact that their hands were full, he was able to capture them in a quick wired shuriken movement.

The group of girls and one man were tied together, stuck in Orochimaru's territory. Orochimaru slowly shook his head and clicked his tongue, his long hair wrapping around his face as he did so. "Sheesh, Takara… I would have thought you'd have given up by now… Now I have to erase his memory all over again, plus the memory of these lovely ladies! Not to mention, I have to fabricate memories and all for them… Do you know how much trouble that is? Oh, well, no matter… At least I have the source of the problem in tow…" Orochimaru pointed out, seemingly thinking out loud.

"What… are you talking about?" Kabuto growled out, his voice low and husky in anger. If Orochimaru was telling the truth, then that meant…

"Oh? Of course, I have to go through the talk again… Well, you see, my dear Kabuto, every time I leave you alone in the lair, our dear friend Takara comes over and attempts to liberate you. She used to be a prisoner of mine, but… The first time I let you be by yourself, she convinced you to set her free, and tried taking you with her. I, luckily, was able to intervene before you escaped, but well, I couldn't stop her. After that, I was determined to get her as one of my minions. So, I allowed you to keep memories of her visits—but not her liberating you—so that she'd keep coming, and attempt to free you again, so that I might have a chance to try capturing her once again.

And now, I have you both. I simply have to erase and alter your memories a bit, so that you think you've always wanted to be loyal to me," Orochimaru finished his monologue with a lopsided smirk, his eyes flashing in interest. "Hmm… I think that that will be the last thing I do with this body. I think it is a worthy 'funeral' for it, don't you think, Kabuto?"

"What do you mean… that I wasn't loyal to you? You mean, you _tricked_ me into being loyal?" Kabuto yelled. Sakura was shocked—she had never seen him so unhinged, so angry. As she inspected him more closely, the whites of his eyes were beginning to turn red.

"Well, of course I did," Orochimaru replied, faking being taken aback, "After all, how else could I keep someone such as you, someone who had switched between three masters in only the course of one year? From that medic nin in the village… to Sasori… and, then, finally, to me. You are special, Kabuto. And you will remain mine until I decide that I have had enough of you—and then, I shall send you to your death, like I have done thousands of others—for a respectable reason, however, of course," Orochimaru finished, adding the last statement as an afterthought.

"You… _bastard_," Kabuto choked out. Sakura could feel him shaking him—she could see Takara silently crying beside Ino, and she could feel Ino's shaky sobs. She was both angry and upset at the turn of events, but she was the one who was the least affected, other than the fact that Kabuto's memories of her would be erased, or worse, altered.

"I'm the bastard? You are the one who can't trace your lineage back even a single generation, my dear Kabuto. After all, you were simply _found_ in Kikyo Pass…" Orochimaru pointed out, a smirk adorning his face as he noticed Kabuto reacting. "But, anyways, Sasuke, I believe you should sedate them… That way, we can erase their memories…"

Sasuke grunted in response, before opening a bottle, and holding it under each person's nose. Soon, all four of them were sleeping, and Sasuke capped the bottle, careful not to breathe in the fumes.

"Soon, Sasuke, your body will be mine," Orochimaru commented offhandedly, as if reminding Sasuke of his fate.

"I know, Orochimaru," Sasuke muttered. "My major goal for my life has been met, anyways, and my minor goal is _about_ to become accomplished," Sasuke explained, obviously not caring that his life would be coming to an end soon.

"Huh. You actually think like that…" Orochimaru muttered to himself with a small smirk, before motioning at the unconscious people. Sasuke grabbed Ino and Sakura, while Orochimaru picked up Kabuto and Takara. "And now, perhaps, this problem has been fixed, as well. Seems like everything is falling into place… Oh, and the last thing you get to do before I take over your body is to impregnate Sakura and Ino," Orochimaru added.

"I thought that Ino was Kabuto's?" Sasuke asked, somewhat shocked.

"Having a child from you is more important than having a child from him, anyways. Besides, he may meet his end soon…" Orochimaru mused aloud to Sasuke. "But, I'm sure Kabuto has already made the medicine to help women conceive almost one hundred percent of the time, anyways," Orochimaru shrugged. "Three Sharingans are better than one, ne?"

----

Kabuto awakened groggily in his bedroom, his head feeling like it had been split open. "What happened…?" he asked himself, rubbing his temples and staring ahead. "Oh, yeah… I nearly died in that fight… I must have healed myself with my remaining chakra," he said, as he examined the areas that were supposed to be scarred, lacerated, bruised, or even simply scraped. He glanced at his digital clock and sighed. It read 10:32, which meant he wouldn't get much sleep that following night, which meant his sleep schedule was thrown off of it's norm.

----

"Sasuke… Aren't you going to use protection?" Sakura asked her boyfriend, Sasuke, as he positioned himself on top of her.

"Don't worry—people who've done this more than we have unprotected didn't get pregnant. You'll be fine," Sasuke assured.

"O… Okay…" Sakura agreed.

Sakura awoke with a start and sighed. She had finally had sex with Sasuke—but it was unprotected. She would have to pay attention to her periods.

----

Takara was running, running, running through the woods. She could hear the clamoring of the Mist soldiers behind her, all wanting her blood. She had just escaped an imprisonment camp for those with bloodline abilities, and she was finally free—almost.

She cursed herself as she fell down, having tripped on a tree root. She scrambled to get to her feet, but soon realized that her foot was, at the very least, sprained. She heard shuffling to her right, and was almost positive that she was about to die.

Suddenly, someone who couldn't possibly be from the Mist stood in front of her.

"Don't worry… I'll protect you," the snake-like man hissed. Takara fainted from fatigue.

----

_The man, who had refused to even mention his own name, or ask hers, had violated her in so many ways. Some nights, he would just beat her with random things he could find in order to keep her bound to the cave. Other nights, he did much worse—he would force himself inside of her. The first night he did so, he took her virginity, which meant she was not pure for the man she **wanted** to be with, and it was also taken from her. She felt so much pain, she'd either cry herself to sleep, or she'd pass out from the great magnitude of the suffering she had undergone._

_And then, one day, when the man came in, another two followed. One of the men looked as if he was that man's younger brother, and he was giving his older brother death glares. Suddenly, he lunged forward with a knife in his hand, and slit the man's throat. She could feel the blood pouring across her arms, but she was extremely happy because of this, though still scared of the other two men. She passed out._

Ino woke up with a start and glanced around the room. Her wounds had been dressed, and she had been (probably forcibly) given painkillers. She curled up on her bed and cried to herself, wondering what would happen to her next, and also crying because of joy, and yet sadness of what she had gone through.

----

"So, Sakura and I are lovers; Ino was raped by my older brother, who we then killed; Kabuto is waking up from a fight; and Takara ran away from the Mist, and we saved her…" Sasuke replied, parroting Orochimaru.

"Correct. Do _not_ mix up the stories between others—that would make everything fall apart," Orochimaru explained, though Sasuke had already figured at least that much out.

"So, what now?" Sasuke asked with a sigh.

"We have Kabuto perform the ceremony, and we put Ino and Sakura under extreme care—and in nine months, the two of them will have two identical-looking babies. And soon, we'll send Kabuto off to a suicidal mission, and Takara will still be one of our leading minions, until such a time comes as she betrays us," Orochimaru explained out, obviously having planned it all out from the beginning.

"You expected this to happen," Sasuke accused gently, not really caring if he had planned it out or not. It didn't matter to him, after all—soon, he'd be as good as dead.

"Of course I did—I know my underlings, whether they are my underlings by choice or not," Orochimaru replied with a small chuckle.

----

'Damn it, that bastard altered our memories!' Saku called out, her anger evident in every word.

'_Saku, relax,' Ra said gently, trying to calm her other half down. 'I know. I'm mad, too. But, we have to think **clearly** about what we can do. We have to think about how we can get Sakura's real feelings to surface.'_

'_That bastard Sasuke, I swear, when Sakura gets her memories back, I am going to **personally** help her kill the **both** of them! I want to fustigate Orochimaru into a bloody pulp, and I want to sever all of his limbs…' Saku began a rant, describing in length what she would do to both Orochimaru and Sasuke._

'_Saku! Saku!' Ra called, throwing Saku off of her rant._

'_Okay. I'm centered. I'm calm,' Saku replied, taking a few deep breaths._

'_I have an idea. We force Sakura and Kabuto to spend a lot of time together—and since **we** somehow remember everything, while Sakura doesn't, it won't take **too** much to force her to remember!' Ra exclaimed._

'… _And then we can torture those two?'_

'_And then we escape, come back with reinforcements, and then yes, we can murder those two,' Ra agreed._

_Saku squealed in excitement._


	10. Chapter 10

**All In The Name Of A One-Sided Love**

"So, this is the memories that Orochimaru sealed away?" Saku asked, staring at the large, bolted vault in awe.

"_Yeah… I think so…" Ra agreed, wondering how on earth they were to get the large door unlocked. Ra gently knocked on the door, just to see how solid it was, and sighed as she realized that it was rock-hard—no one would be getting through that anytime soon._

"_Well, my theory is that the only thing that can possibly help is to get Sakura around Kabuto…" Ra said with a sigh._

----

It became blatantly obvious to both of them that they were pregnant when they began having morning sickness two weeks after their respective incidents, and the pregnancy test Kabuto had them take confirmed their worst fears—they were indeed pregnant. This was much more emotionally damaging to Ino than Sakura, for the only one Ino had had sex with was Itachi, and that was rape instead of consensual like the cause of Sakura's pregnancy.

'_What am I going to do? I mean, I can't possibly take care of a baby on my own! I haven't seen Sasuke in forever, and it's like since he found out I'm pregnant, he doesn't want to see me anymore! Will I have to raise a baby on my own? I barely make enough money for myself, but I definitely won't have the time or the money to feed a baby!'_ thoughts such as these were fed into Sakura's head by Saku and Ra—this was harder to do than it sounds, for the only way for them to feed thoughts into Sakura's memory was to think or say the same thing at the same time.

"Well, you don't have to worry, because…" Kabuto had come into Sakura's room in order to tell her that Orochimaru would give her all the things she would need for the baby, but halfway through delivering his message, Sakura began to cry uncontrollably.

"Perfect! Now he won't be able to resist comforting her!" Saku exclaimed happily in excitement.

"Uh, Sakura… Should I just come back…?" Kabuto asked, unnerved by the crying woman.

"Damn it! No!" Saku and Ra thought simultaneously.

"No! I… uh, well…" Sakura muttered, surprised by her own thoughts. Why did it matter that Kabuto stayed?

"Oh, um, okay…" Kabuto replied nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"We need to keep her crying! He'll comfort eventually! Depressing thought again!" Ra commanded Saku. They repeated thinking the same thoughts from beginning, sending Sakura into another spiral of despair and self-doubt. She began sobbing even harder, sinking to her knees once again.

"Sakura!" Kabuto called out, leaning over her and gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"I… You don't know what I'm going through! Sasuke's gone and abandoned me, and I don't have any way to take care of the baby…" Sakura was rambling now.

"Well, Sasuke is… busy, even if he is a pretentious anal bastard," the last three words being muttered to the point where only Sakura could hear him, "And Orochimaru said that he would fund you and your baby," Kabuto finished comfortingly.

Sakura had chuckled at the comment towards Sasuke, and she paused. He was right—Sasuke was conceited and he was actually a very cruel person. All he had to redeem him were looks and skills—how did she ever come to even like someone like Sasuke? Oh, right—the looks part had her smitten.

'But Kabuto looks better…' Sakura found herself thinking. She blushed lightly, and Kabuto stood to leave.

"Here, Saku, say this!" Saku commanded.

'Sasuke was never so nice to me…' Sakura thought, and her blush deepened.

"Hey, Ra, look! The door… There are less bolts in it!" Saku pointed out, and Ra smirked.

"Looks like my theory is working… We just have to keep Sakura around Kabuto, and soon, the door will simply fall down…"

----

Getting Sakura around Kabuto was harder than Saku and Ra had imagined. After all, Kabuto was a very busy underling—he was the one getting the body change ready, and he was the one providing care for Ino and Sakura. The only times they really saw Kabuto was when Kabuto was bringing Sakura prenatal pills, medicine for their morning sickness, water, and their meals. Every time he would have to bring anything for Sakura, however, Ra and Saku dealt as much damage to the vault as they could. Even after nearly a month's worth of work, they weren't making much progress.

So, they had to feed thoughts into Sakura's head. Of course, they felt terrible about doing such things—they were basically manipulating her, in a similar way that Orochimaru altered her memories. But, what had to be done had to be done. Once Ra wrote down exactly what the two of them should think/say, so that they could both think/say it at once, they began, even before Kabuto was anywhere near the cell.

'_I'm tired of waiting around in this cell. Can't they have me doing something productive? I mean, I'm only in my first month—I'm now even showing yet! Sure, I have morning sickness, and fatigue, but that doesn't mean I can't do simple work to keep myself busy, like making potions… Hey, making my own morning sickness, fatigue, and prenatal medicines wouldn't be a bad idea. Kabuto should let me do that much, at the very least! I mean, I have **nothing** to do in here! It's driving me nuts!'_

'And, besides, I should also at least get to talk to Sasuke before… the ritual. I mean, he's the father of my child, and he won't even stay alive—well, sort of—until the baby is born! He is the one who told me that it was okay to not use protection, and he should be the one taking responsibility, not Orochimaru!'

When Kabuto walked in with her dinner later that night, Sakura made her demands. Kabuto simply nodded and ran a hand through a messy ponytail of silver hair. "I'll ask Orochimaru about it," he muttered, before leaving Sakura, as if nothing at all had happened.

"He's not going to ask, is he?" Sakura muttered to herself.

----

"Very well. You may allow her to continue making medicines—but don't let her near anything potentially damaging to the child," Orochimaru said with a small wave. "And… well, if Sasuke feels like it, he may talk to the girl as well."

"Okay," Kabuto replied with a small nod. He walked away, somewhat surprised that Orochimaru had actually agreed—after all, there was no direct benefit to him, and it may also be turned into a liability.

----

"So, I need this root extract…" Sakura muttered, pointing to a strange plant. Kabuto was staring at her, wondering why this felt so familiar—he didn't remember actually teaching her potions and medicines, only giving her the materials to do so. It felt oddly… right, somehow. As if he had done it thousands of times before, or something like that. Sakura was feeling similar, except her feelings were stronger.

"The vault is halfway gone…" Ra muttered to Saku.

"Yeah… I wonder… Do you think we can speed this up?"

"How?"

"Well, Sakura already feels nostalgic… Maybe Kabuto feels the same. Maybe… we can have them have an old conversation, or something. After all, it might just work…"

"Alright. Think about fustigation," Ra replied with a small smirk, interested in her other half's ideas.

"Hey, do you know the word 'fustigation'?" Sakura asked with a small smirk while working.

Kabuto nearly jumped, but he paused. "Yeah… I don't remember where I got it, but it means to beat someone up with a club or a cudgel, right?"

"Right!" Sakura seemed impressed, and nearly dropped the jar she had been holding. Kabuto quickly lunged for it, grabbing it just before it hit the ground.

"Be more careful. Those ingredients are hard to find," Kabuto muttered, setting it back on the table gently.

Sakura rolled her eyes and nodded. "Whatever you say, 'Buto," she muttered sarcastically. She froze after having called him "'Buto". Where in the world had that come from? She wasn't nearly close enough to him to come up with such a strange, and somewhat embarrassing nickname.

"They're flying off fast!" Saku crowed in excitement. Bolts were shooting everywhere, and the door was even beginning to lean open on one side. Soon, the huge metallic door would be falling down…

"Yeah, let's get out of here before it collapses on us," Ra ordered before jumping away from the quickly disintegrating door.

Sakura felt like something was coming to her, as if she was remembering a distant memory. Her head was stinging, and she could feel the beginnings of a sudden migraine. She pushed against her temples with her forefingers, trying to suppress the pain, but it was futile. The migraine only intensified to the point where she felt like she wanted… needed to throw up to relieve it.

"Sakura? Sakura?" Kabuto asked gently, leaning over her after she fell to the ground, the sudden rush of information clouding her thoughts and, somehow, her vision. She passed out, the last visible thing being Kabuto calling out her name, his voice distorted by her lessening consciousness.

----

'Which memories are real? I mean, the ones with Kabuto… I can remember feelings; I can remember smells, touch, and taste… But the ones with Sasuke in them make more sense. How else would I come to be pregnant with his child? But… the new ones… they explain more. They make more sense. They show why I don't have my other side anymore, how I ended up here, and so much more besides. But… but the ones with Sasuke in them… They seem like the ones that **should** be right. I mean, they should have happened for me to get here! Right?'

Saku and Ra were listening to Sakura's thoughts like they were on a radio. They locked gazes and sighed. Their plan had worked—but not as well as they had hoped. They hadn't thought of the contingency that Sakura wouldn't exactly **believe** her memories. It made sense that she'd be confused, but really, they hadn't expected Orochimaru's altered and added memories to stick, either.

"What do we do?" Saku demanded. Ra had her knees against her chest, and her arms wrapped around them.

"I… I don't know…" she muttered weakly back, her head digging further against her legs.

"What do you mean, you don't know? You have to know!" Saku screamed, stomping her foot.

"I… I just don't. I mean, even if she believes the right memories… It doesn't change what Kabuto believes happened, or what Ino and Takara believe is real. They'll still think that… that… well, that all that fake stuff happened…"

"Stop being so weak! Damn, you're the smart side! If the smart side is going to be so weak, what help is there for us?" Saku demanded, causing Ra to whimper again. Saku sighed and ran a hand through her now messy hair—this wasn't going anywhere, and wouldn't go anywhere until she comforted Ra at least a little bit.

"Look, we have no chance if Sakura believes the fake memories. At least, if she believes the right memories, at least we have a chance that she'll be able to come up with something. Now, we have to convince her that the right memories are real, and that the others are fabricated," Saku said gently, wrapping her arms around Ra tentatively. After all, she didn't really know what to say to convince someone like Ra to think.

After a few moments of silence, Ra straightened up and conjured a piece of paper. "Say this," Ra commanded.

'But, then again, Kabuto… he cares more than Sasuke does… And in the memories I have, I only wanted Sasuke for his looks… But Kabuto… We had a deeper connection. He's as smart as I am, he's into the same things, and he actually has a brain along with looks! I guess… I think the ones without Sasuke in them are the real ones…'

"The ones… With Kabuto are real…" Sakura murmured against her blanket, only half-conscious.

"Huh?" Kabuto asked, doing a double take.

'He doesn't know, does he? His memories were altered, too…'

"Nothing… Strange dream," Sakura explained, coming up with an excuse on the spot. Kabuto bought it, however, and continued to check her vitals.

"Oh, I see… The problem is that your prenatal pills are too concentrated. We'll need to add a little less of each ingredient to a certain proportion.

"Right…" Sakura muttered, somewhat perturbed. She was most definitely in love with Kabuto—and whether or not he had been, at one point, was unknown to her. But, even if he did, at one point, he didn't remember it.

Being confused and unsure would be a massive understatement.


	11. Chapter 11

**All In The Name Of A One-Sided Love**

_"Uchiha-san wants you and Ino to be present at the ritual," Kabuto informed Sakura, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Sakura desperately wanted to have a conversation like they used to have, to talk to him like they used to. Or, even, just to sit with him and read books all day long—the feeling she got from just being near him when he read was comforting, as if nothing bad could ever happen to her._

_"I… see," Sakura finished, stalling for time. She knew that, once Kabuto told her all she needed to know, he'd leave. The longer it took her to acknowledge what he said, the longer he would stay._

_"It will take a long time to complete, and if you ever feel tired, then just leave. I'll understand," Kabuto said. His tone gave off that he was about to leave, and Sakura needed to stop that._

_"Wait!" she cried out, just as Kabuto's hand touched the door. He turned back to her, somewhat surprised that she had called out for him, but listened patiently to whatever she had to say. "How is Takara-san?" she asked finally, the question coming out of her without Sakura's realization._

_"Oh, I hadn't realized you'd even heard about that. She's fine—she'll be carrying out missions for us in a matter of days," Kabuto explained, waiting to see if there was anything else. He did have all day to listen to her requests, after all._

_"And Ino… san?" Sakura was unfamiliar with using the 'san' with Ino's name—especially since they were really closer than everyone thought._

_"She's in the same state that you are."_

_Sakura wanted to laugh, to say that there was no possible way that Ino could possibly be in the same state she was in. She simply nodded, however._

_"What sort of ritual is it going to be?" Sakura asked, not really caring to know, but really, she had to keep him there with some sort of conversation._

_"It will be a complex one. Compared to the ones Orochimaru usually uses, it's kind of surprising how complicated it will be. I guess he doesn't want to take any chances—after all, while this may not be his last body, it will be his favorite."_

_"How painful will it be?"_

_"For Sasuke or Orochimaru?"_

_Sakura almost said 'Piss on Orochimaru', but her logic and reasoning prevented that. "Sasuke," she answered back, as if the answer had been obvious._

_"Very," Kabuto said with a small nod._

_"I see. Thanks," she muttered, finally dismissing Kabuto to arrange the preparations._

Sakura and Ino stood, side-by-side, staring through a glass at the place where the ritual would be held. To one side of the room was a large metal machine, which Kabuto was currently pressing buttons into. It had thousands of levers and buttons, a keypad, and bulbs, which flashed with electricity. This machine, according to Kabuto, would be what generated the chakra into the pattern on the floor.

The pattern on the floor was a strange sort of double-pentagram. Sakura thought about it, and really, all you would have to do to draw it is draw a pentagram, and then draw another on top of it. At the tip of each pentagram was a small circle; one that Sakura assumed was used to collect chakra. In the middle of the pattern was a wooden table, which was lifted only a foot above the floor. The scariest thing about the entire ritual, however, was that connected to the wooden table were four shackles—one in each corner of the rectangular table.

"It looks like something out of a witchcraft movie," Ino commented suddenly, her tone unimpressed. She felt no connection to Sasuke, other than that he was the brother of the person who had raped her, and that he was the one who saved her. Due to that, she felt indebted to him—and that was why she was still there. Other than that feeling of obligation towards Sasuke, she felt no connection to him whatsoever.

"Don't worry. We aren't sacrificing virgins," Kabuto said from inside the glassed room, his tone somewhat amused.

'Of course he's amused,' Sakura thought, 'He disliked Sasuke immensely. Why wouldn't he be glad to get rid of him? Besides, his master is happy, now...'

At that moment, Sasuke and Orochimaru walked into the room. Sasuke was only wearing a pair of loose-fitting, dark blue shorts. His bear, pale chest shone in the moonlight from outside, and Sakura nearly gagged. She still hadn't quite worked out how she felt towards Sasuke—on one hand, it was a hatred that ran so deep it almost burned. On the other, he was a dear teammate that had lost his way. For the longest time, it had been the latter, but in recent times, she had realized that none of Sasuke remained from back then. Even so, she still felt connected to him, in a way that only the ones who created the idea of four unit teams (including the Jonin sensei) could explain.

Sasuke sat down on the table and scooted backwards, before lying out on the table. Orochimaru walked around the table, shackling each appendage with precise ease. Sasuke stared straight up, as if the ceiling was to be his fate. Sakura analyzed him from behind the glass, feigning indifference. She tried finding any signs of sadness, remorse, or despair, but she found none. She also did not find any signs that he was happy to be giving up his body. He seemed empty, somehow, as if his soul was gone.

But, then again, that made sense. Ever since he was seven, his driving purpose for living had been to kill his brother. And now that he had succeeded in doing just that, he had nothing left to live for. Even the secondary goal of having a family was fulfilled, as Sakura and Ino were both pregnant.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sasuke turned to her. He gave her a clear message in just that one look—he didn't care. Sakura's eyes floated to the floor, unable to hold her gaze against the scrutinizing staring of Sasuke. She felt a single tear run down her cheek. She looked back up when she heard the thunk of large levers being flipped. The generator began crackling electricity.

Orochimaru leaned down on the ground. In the two points across from Sasuke's left and right leg, Orochimaru placed his hands. As if willing the chakra forward, Orochimaru allowed his own chakra to continuously surge through the double pentagram on the floor. The pentagram glowed a light blue, the color normal chakra materialized in when a large amount of it was gathered in one place.

Sasuke screamed out in pain, a sudden layer of sweat appearing on his chest and face. He was pulled against the shackles, the metal rings cutting deeply into his ankles and wrists. His body thudded against the table and arched forward, automatically attempting to escape the pain.

Simultaneously, Orochimaru groaned and fell limply to the ground. Soon, Sasuke stopped moving, and fell limp against the table. His eyes were still open, but they were glazed over, as if he was dead.

And then, suddenly, light returned to his eyes. 'Sasuke' smirked proudly, flexing his fingers before falling unconscious.

----

The two of them had a routine. Not one that Sakura could say she personally enjoyed, but a routine. Instead of sending Kabuto to check in on her, Orochimaru went himself. And, of course, he couldn't be bothered with using a genjutsu to look like his old self—oh, no, he'd rather parade around looking like Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan," he'd drawled out as he entered the medicine-making room.

"Don't call me that," Sakura would hiss chidingly, as if she was talking to a younger boy. Her tone gave off no form of respect whatsoever, unlike before Sakura had her memories.

"Oh, okay, then. Sakura-san?" 'Only Lee calls me that. Besides, he can't use my first name. I won't allow it,' she'd think.

"Never," she'd grumble maliciously.

"Haruno-chan?" Sakura sent a bone-chilling glare his way. He was unaffected by it, but continued with the last name, the one he knew she wished to be called, anyways. "Haruno-san?"

"That's fine," she'd reply, as if nothing he had said before was bothering her. Truly, pregnant hormones were amazing.

"Well, I just came to check on you, Haruno-san. I do not wish for harm to come to you."

"To me or the baby?"

"To both, of course. Both are important to me," he'd explain, his voice, tone, and actions giving nothing off except for the cryptic message he had given her. And then, he left.

Then, one day, the routine changed.

"Haruno-san," he began, automatically using the real name. Sakura turned to him in slight surprise, but listened obediently—for now. "I have some news," he continued unnecessarily. "You are officially three months pregnant, and Kabuto is going to give you your first sonogram today… Also, when you have the child, he shall be christened Ryuzaki. And you won't be personally watching the child, Ino-chan will be," he finished.

"I don't get to choose the name?" she said, through gritted teeth.

"Sasuke-kun picked it before…" and then he motioned to himself. 'Bastard,' she thought to herself as he did so, as if he had the right to speak of Sasuke in such a manner.

"And what will Ino's child be named?" Sakura asked after a moment of silence.

"Hideki."

"Why did he pick those names?" Sakura's voice had an edge to it, and Orochimaru wanted to get out of there quickly. But the way to keep her the most calm was to tell her everything she wanted to know. Not that that was always possible, but that was the best way to keep her calm.

"Because the Uchiha have a tradition of choosing the names from a chart made decades ago. It has a list of members and when they should be named what. For instance, it goes Itachi, Sasuke, Ryuzaki, Hideki…" Orochimaru trailed off, knowing Sakura understood.

"So, he picked traditional Uchiha names?"

Orochimaru nodded in response.

"Go away," she commanded, her tone betraying the fact that he voice cracked in the middle of the word away. Orochimaru simply nodded, a small smirk present on his face, before he exited the room, glancing back only once at her as she stood there, still holding the knife used to cut a root, the knife stiff in her hands.

As soon as she heard the distinctive sound of the door sliding shut, the sound of the stone grinding against stone, all reason left her. She gripped the knife even tighter, before flinging it across the room, bending the metal against the hard stonewall. She flipped the table over, ignoring the fact that a few completed and an almost completed medicine were in jars upon the wooden surface. She flung off the apron she was wearing and threw it on the floor roughly.

She stopped. As if the life inside her was protesting, she had felt the unmistakable tremor of activity from just behind her stomach. She sunk to the floor, her knees scraping gently across the rough texture, and sobbed. She had no reason to continue living. The man she had once loved was basically dead. The man she had grown to love didn't remember anything. Her best friend didn't recognize her. Back at her home, she only had the hospital.

She felt the despair wash over her, eroding her very soul like the waves beating mercilessly against the face of a cliff. Sure, it started out with a tough exterior—but with every hit, with every motion the waves made against the cliff, it crumbled, at least a little bit. Eventually, even if it may have took hundreds of years, that cliff will crumble and erode away into nothingness.

That cliff was Sakura, and those waves were Orochimaru.


End file.
